Then Came You
by QianRenXin
Summary: Harry is desperate to be left alone. Ron is finally in need of some peace. Hermione could really use a quiet life for now. But why are they dubbed as the Golden Trio if anything ever goes according to the plan? Especially when that particular ruined plan involved finding comfort in the most twisted fate. [Marriage Law]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : All copyrights belong to JK Rowling. A friendly reminder that Fred is never dead in here. Neither does** **Dumbledore or Snape. Crabbe, Sirius, Remus and Tonks as well.**

 **Chapter 1 : Night Terrors**

Hermione woke up with a start, breathing heavily as she struggled to calm the rapid beating of her hammering heart. She was sweating profusely and she can feel the sweat drenching the back of her shirt. She sat up and her eyes darted around the room rapidly to ensure she was really in the safety of her shared bedroom with Ginny before letting out a heavy sigh.

She cupped her face and let her back rested against the headboard. She had awoken from a vivid dream, the haunting pictures of dead bodies and blood was everywhere. It was nothing new but she was feeling awful, just the same as the first time. The Second Wizarding War might have ended with victory for the Light side, but the scar remained to haunt each one of the survivors forever.

Knowing it's futile to attempt going back to sleep from past experience, Hermione headed out of the room instead and found herself in the kitchen. She was about to reach for a glass of water when the sound of soft footsteps appeared and no second later, Ginny appeared with a tired look. She was pale as a ghost and instantly slouched into a chair.

"Did I wake you up?" Hermione offered an apologetic smile as the redheaded female raised her head.

"No." She replied. "I was having a nightmare again."

Sighing, Hermione nodded understandingly and didn't even bothered asking further. She settled on making teas for them instead without the help of magic just to take her mind off things. A comfortable silence fell upon them as Ginny sat in silence while Hermione bustled around the kitchen without a word. The silence didn't last long for Harry Potter and Ron Weasley chose that exact moment to make their appearances.

"M-Morning." Harry greeted them while stifling a yawn. Ron mumbled incoherently beside him, which they could only assume was some sort of a greeting as well.

"Why are you guys already up this early in the morning?" A quick glance at his watch told him that it's barely half past six. Hermione shrugged and offered them some tea, having given up on doing things without magic with the other two's arrival.

"Probably the same as you guys."

Harry and Ron shared a quick look with each other and gulped. Indeed, the two were awoken by nightmares as well and had scrambled out of their beds in a hurry.

"You guys too?" Harry whispered urgently, his eyes slightly unfocused.

"Of course."

"George!" Four pair of eyes bulged out at the sight of Fred and George Weasley making their way into the small kitchen with a matching wicked smile.

"Hello, guys." George casually leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on the girls' cheeks while Fred brought the two boys into a playful headlock.

"What are you doing here?"

Fred instantly faked an offended look once he settled next to Harry. "Ginevra is acting hostile towards me. Who are you? Give me back my sweet little sister!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Never call me Ginevra again and since when I was ever sweet?" She made an air quote before scoffing with disgust.

"You're right. You're a hella rotten one." Fred said with a feigned thoughtful look.

"Did I just heard you begging for my Bat-Bogey hex?" Ginny put a hand over her ear as if straining to listen. "That aside, why are you guys here for real?"

The twins exchanged a quick look with each other before grinning widely.

"We're coming back to Hogwarts."

"WHAT?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 : Start-Of-Term Extra Notice**

Hogwarts Express was speeding across the country as neat green fields could be seen passing through in a blur. In one of the many compartments of the train, four heavily cloaked in Hogwarts black robes students were sitting closely to each other. The compartment was easily distinguished as the loudest of all as all the noise seems to be coming from there.

"Oh come on, not again!" Harry exclaimed as he lost yet again in a chest match against Ron. The said latter was grinning widely, wiggling his brows mockingly.

Meanwhile, Fred and George were hurdled up together at the corner over a long parchment. They were arguing heatedly regarding the newest product for their joke shop though anyone can tell the two are not going to reach an agreement with each other any sooner. The door suddenly slid open with a harsh tug before a tall, dark-haired male burst into the compartment with a beaming smile.

"It"s true!" He shrieked loudly, intending to inform the other two newcomers. "They are really here."

Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan trudged into the compartment just then, saying a quick greeting towards the others before squeezing themselves between Harry and Ron.

"You are really back." Neville mused as if thinking it was some kind of sick joke in the first place. "But why?"

"Because they are idiots, that's why." The door slid open again, revealing Ginny and Hermione already dressed in their Hogwarts robes. Hermione was sporting a shiny silver badge on her chest while Ginny had her red and gold badge pinned onto her robes. They immediately slumped onto the empty seats while the three clueless boys exchanged a confused look with each other.

Hermione rolled her eyes as the Weasley twins just laughed at the boys' expressions. "Because Dumbledore asked them to do so."

If she thought she was actually being helpful, she was immensely wrong indeed. If anything, it brought even more confusion to the boys as they had their brows scrunched up by now. Harry and Ron snorted derisively in the background but said nothing.

"Hemione, that's not helping." Ginny pointed out through a mouthful of Cauldron Cake.

"Yeah, Hermione." Fred said, smirking.

"You tell them then."

"What is there to tell?That old Dumbledore barged into our shop and insisted upon our return to Hogwarts with the help of our dear mother?" George retorted with a scoff. "It's not like we want to be reminded of why he is so bloody pesistent on that."

"Why is it that Professor Dumbledore-"

"No idea." Ginny quickly cut Dean's words, getting the idea even without listening to the rest of the question. "That's the only thing that they won't tell even us either."

"You will see soon anyway." Fred grunted as he took a huge bite of a chocolate frog.

Nevilled blinked. "So,let me get this straight. You are not actually planning on ever coming back to Hogwarts but Dumbledore suddenly appeared and insisted you to do so for whatever reason it is that you refuse to tell us?"

"You missed our dearest mother bit there." Fred said sarcastically.

"Mum is over the moon." George told with a look of annoyance. "Something along the line of it is such a wonderful opportunity no matter what's the circumstance. She is convinced that graduating is still very much needed despite of our booming business as she adressed it."

"What about the store then?" Dean inquired eagerly and it really does seems like he actually cared more about the store itself. The Weasley twins were obviously not that much bothered with Dumbledore's odd request after all, just plainly annoyed having to succumb to their mother's firm belief instead.

George shrugged. "There's this thing called workers, you know?"

Dean looked mildly embarassed with his dumb question but he paid no heed and covered it up with a sheepish smile. Ginny finished the last bit of her Cauldron Cake before deciding to interrupt.

"Not a bad idea though now that the old bat is long gone."

The twins raised a brow but nodded in agreement nonetheless. The lack of the old bat's presence-who goes by the name Dolores Umbridge-at Hogwarts certainly played a huge part in their final decision if they were being honest. That particular ministry official certainly brought a shudder to many just at the mere thought. She was plainly a nasty epitome of nightmares.

"I wonder who is going to be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Ron said with a deep thoughful look while tapping his finger against his chin. A second later, he suddenly looked alarmed. "It can't be Snape again, right?"

"Actually.." Hermione began hesitantly. "It's highly possible."

Ron instantly let out a loud groan while Harry looked somewhat doubtful.

"As long as it's not the old bat, I'm good."

"I second that."

The rest of the journey was filled with random conversation. Neville, Dean and Seamus left half an hour later since the compartment was already as crowded as it can get while the girls excused themselves soon after to carry out their patrolling duties.

It was a clear, breezy night when they stepped into the platform. Hogsmeade Station was bustling with students as they rushed to the door to the waiting horseless stagecoaches. Most of the older students though, immediately winced at the sight and Harry didn't even need to be an accomplished Legilimens to realise what is the cause. The coach was undoubtedly no longer horseless in their eyes. Several of them bore a resigned look on their faces, sighing as they began climbing into the carriages wordlessly. But, some of them also had confusion plastered all over their faces and Harry was instantly reminded of his own reaction.

Meanwhile, Ron was already standing in front of one of the Thestrals. He stared at the empty white eyes and began stroking the dragonish head absentmindedly. Hermione had emerged next to them by that time, letting out a loud gasp with wide eyes.

"Oh Harry, you are right - I was downright stupid to ever wish this - Blimey, this is scary." Hermione muttered frantically. Her eyes were fixed on the empty white eyes as well, struggling to keep her trembling hands still.

"It's fine." Harry muttered as he pat her shoulder assuringly. "Come on."

They climbed into the carriage before the door shut with a snap and the carriage began to move in convoy up the road. When the carriage finally jingled to a halt before the oak front doors, Hermione was the first one to hop out of it. She glanced all around as she waited for the rest to come out and locked gaze with a pair of cold grey eyes by pure coincidence. The group of Slytherins turned out to be in a carriage right before them and were currently making their way to the Entrance Hall as well.

On the spur of a moment, Hermione somehow found herself noticing that the once cold eyes bore no sign of life in it and the sharp, pointed face was filled with something she was unable to decipher. Before she could went even further though, the other quickly broke the connection and hurried into the Entrance Hall alongside his group of friends.

"Are you coming or what?" Ron said next to her.

"Oh...yeah." She said quickly and they joined the crowd hurrying up the stone steps into the castle.

The Entrance Hall was echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall and the start-of-term feast. The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione quickly took their seats halfway down the Gryffindor table and greeted the other students with a quick hi.

"Is that Malfoy?" Ron suddenly pondered out loud while squinting his eyes in the said male's direction.

"The one and only." Harry confirmed. "Never thought he will back as well."

"Or the rest of the Slytherins for that matter." Ginny added while scanning the Slytherin table. Hermione quickly followed her lead and her eyes fell first upon the blonde male,sitting between Crabbe and Goyle. Blaise Zabini can be seen occupying the seat next to Goyle while Theodore Nott had his chin resting on one hand next to the latter. Further down the table, she spotted Pansy Parkinson chatting animatedly with Daphne Greengrass and Millicent Bulstrode.

"What d'you reckon-" Fred was unable to finish his words since the doors from the Entrance Hall finally burst opened and a long line of scared-looking first-years made their entrance, led by Professor McGonagall. The buzz of noise in the Great Hall faded away as the Sorting Hat burst into song before it proceed to sort the pale first-years. The long line eventually thinned and with the last student sorted into Ravenclaw, Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet with his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile playing on his lips.

"I have only two words to say to you," He told them, his deep voice echoing around the Great Hall. "Tuck in!"

They didn't have to be told twice as they loaded their plates the moment the food magically appeared. All kind of thoughts flew right out of their minds at the moment as they stuffed themselves to the brim. The first course was soon replaced with puddings of all kinds and before long, Albus Dumbledore got to his feet once again when the puddings too had vanished and the last crumbs had faded off the plates. He began to recite the usual start-of-term notices, in which they just smirked at the mention of the Forbidden Forest.

"And last but not least, we are very pleased to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Rosier."

There was a round of scattered, polite applause as the dark-haired wizard presented a tight smile and nodded his head in acknowledgement at the applause. Hermione noticed that Harry suddenly looked thoughtful with his brows knitted together in concentration.

When the applause died down, Dumbledore cleared his throat before continuing, "And now, it is late and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. However, I must ask the cooperation of our seventh years to kindly stay put for an extra notice. The rest of you, bedtime!Chop chop!"

"Here goes nothing." Fred muttered with a frown.

The twins had a knowing look on their faces as the rest of the seventh years remained seated and looked plainly confused. Ron opened his mouth to possibly question the twins but Professor Dumbledore chose that exact moment to interfer since the Great Hall was finally devoid of younger students.

"First, my sincere apologies for keeping you from your awaiting beds, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish but there is such an important news that I am no way fond of but have to break to you. Bear in mind that I tried my best to prevent this and I am absolutely against the whole thing. Unfortunately, I'm afraid there is only so little an old man like me can do."

Dumbledore's blue eyes swept over the students-in what Hermione can make out as sympathetic gaze.

"As all of you are fully informed already, we had just recently survived the Second Wizarding War and many of you fought with such bravery and courage that even more experienced and older wizards and witches have a hard time to accomplish. But with a war, came the huge price that we have to pay. Our wizarding population took quite a hit as the war had spilled so much magical blood and caused too much casualties. As a solution, the Ministry of Magic decided to enact a new law imaginatively named as the Marriage Law. It was officially enforced as of today and applied to all wizards and witches alike between the age of 17 and 40."

"There goes your answer." George said first with a strange gleam in his eyes as he waited for the impending outburst. Oh, he had a good feeling about this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 : Bloody Hell Indeed  
**

There was only silence for a moment as they stared with mouth agape at the Headmaster. Albus Dumbledore attempted to present what he thought was an assuring smile but failed miserably and instantly resorted to drop it.

"He's gone off his rocker." A quiet murmur emerged from behind Harry. Harry turned to face the culprit but even he was unable to find the right word to defend the old man, ending up of opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water.

Delayed as it was, the Great Hall finally burst out into a chorus of loud protest. A string of very, _very_ colourful words were flying off from everywhere around the hall while the teachers frowned in disapproval.

"However," Dumbledore added amidst the thunderous uproar. "After much resistance on the Ministry's side, I managed to convince the Ministry to allow you being partnered up within the school as of not to bring a great discomfort to you with a marriage to a complete stranger or someone dramatically older than you. A booklet will be handed to you right now and it provides more details of the new law. "

He finished with a heavy sigh before reluctantly waving his wand in a swift motion to levitate the booklets to the livid students. Hermione was the first one to snatch it up and began scanning it at such inhuman speed while Dean let out a choked whimper at the mere sight of the first page.

"The Ministry is out of their mind!" Seamus spat as he threw away the booklet in disgust. It was bad enough that they were forced to marry at such young age but the worst part had to be the fact that they didn't even have a say in the choice of their future spouse.

"Obviously." George muttered under his breath as he placed the booklet before him and stared hard at the offending object. In contrary, his twin was narrowing his eyes in Dumbledore's direction with his lips pressed tightly together.

"Way to go to bring it into a whole new level of awkward." He drawled through gritted teeth. "Discomfort my ass. I'd rather married a complete stranger instead."

"Why?" Ginny prompted without thinking.

"Because my sweet little Ginevra, there is no guarantee you won't be paired up with.. _those._ " All heads instantly whipped around and trailed after Fred's accusing finger before all the colors drained out of their faces. Ron snorted while Neville loosened his tie slightly and shifted restlessly in his seat. Being tied up to a member of the Slytherin house in a wizarding marriage for the rest of your life was not exactly that appealing to them.

"Anyone but Millicent Bulstrode." Harry commented with a shudder and was welcomed with mutual agreement from the boys.

"One last thing before I let you off to bed," Dumbledore interrupted. "All of you are require to be present here after breakfast tomorrow so we can assign your partner and explain further details after that. Now, off you go!"

"This is insane, exceedingly barbaric and plainly outrageous!" Ron said furiously as all of them stalked off to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Preach, little brother." Fred said while slinging his arm around the latter.

"That explained why he specifically asked us to come back. Right, Fred?"

"Yeah. I'm torn between hexing Dumbledore to oblivion or showering him with roses now."

"That come down to the pairings tomorrow I supposed."

Fred scoffed. "Any hint of Slytherin and I'm so out of here."

Ron's whole face suddenly lit up once hearing that with his eyes sparkling hopefully. "We can do that?"

"Maybe but I doubt so." Harry commented with a thoughtful look. They had reached the end of the corridor to the Gryffindor common room by that time and the Fat Lady gave them a sympathetic smile before her portrait swung open to reveal the circular tower room. They settled down on the empty armchairs in front of the fireplace with Ron flinging himself into the chair.

"Great, even the portrait is mocking us now." Ron muttered sullenly. "How long do you reckon I need to get pass the gates before I can Apparate?"

"Might as well use a broom instead."

"Good thinking. I should head to Romania and stay with Charlie until all of this madness dies out."

"Fat chance, Ron." Hermione turned up with Ginny right behind her, sinking into the chair between Fred and Ron. "The law stated that it applies to all wizards and witches with British citizenship even if you are not living here at the moment."

Ron widened his eyes in disbelief before he dramatically threw his hands in the air and began firing curses under his breath. Fred and George also cursed under their breath while Harry just remained emotionless, though he did sneaked a glance at Ginny once a while. Even when the war is officially over now with Voldemort finally gone for good, Harry found himself unable to find it in him to rekindle his relationship with the youngest Weasley. Breaking up their previous relationship for the sole reason of protecting her, Harry admitted it was absurd that he was not making any move to win her back when the only barrier between them was gone for a few months now. With the Marriage Law now in the way, he wondered if that had been for the best.

"Hermione, what happens if we refuse the law?" Ginny suddenly questioned, having noticed the missing piece at last.

The said witch looked up and stared for a while. It took a while but she eventually cleared her throat and murmured softly. "Either be sent to Azkaban or surrender your magic."

A look of horror quickly registered on their faces. Slumping his body against the chair, Fred pinched the bridge of his nose while George took a few calming breath.

"We are so doomed."

And though Hermione was trying her best not to freak out by the new law, by next morning she would have given any number of Galleons to be anywhere but Hogwarts. Her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch as she stepped into the chaotic common room, fully occupied with agitated seventh years. There was a lot of complaining and grumbling as they walked out of the portrait hole to the Great Hall-or more like to our doom as Seamus kindly rephrased-, which their already sealed fate awaited.

It was hard not to notice how different the Great Hall was that morning. It was unusually quiet, unlike the usual bright and lively vibe in the air on the first day of lessons. Seventh years could be spotted all over the hall with matching gloomy expression, in which even the younger students couldn't help but to eat in silence as well.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Hermione muttered with a frown as she helped herself to a plate of toast and eggs. She began stabbing the eggs and shoved it down her throat depressingly.

Meanwhile, Ron was already shoveling a mouthful of bacons into his mouth. Harry settled for a bowl of porridge instead and he had just swallowed his fourth spoon when he decided his stomach was truly not in any condition to swallow anything more at the moment. He grabbed the pumpkin juice and chugged it down even when it strangely tasted like nothing more than water.

"The wonderful part is yet to come, Hermione." Fred said sarcastically through a mouthful of sausages.

As much as they dreaded it, there was every ounce of truth in his words. It wasn't even far-fetched for the teachers strode in just minutes later, ushering the remaining younger students to class. With one last pity look, the teachers fled the Great Hall just as Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall appeared at the entrance. Some of them immediately began muttering with each other noisily once their eyes landed on Professor McGonagall's hands.

"The next time I'm in Dumbledore's office, I would steal that blasted hat, shred it into pieces and throw it into Gryffindor's fireplace." Ginny hissed while staring at the Sorting Hat in distaste.

Ron was also staring at the hat, eyes filled with horror instead of dislike. "Do you reckon this is a good time to vouch our War Heroes title?"

"Students," Dumbledore began, putting a stop on the hushed conversations around the hall. "As you can see, we are going to use the Sorting Hat to assign you a partner. Initially, according to the law, you are suppose to go through a series of tests at the Ministry in order for the Ministry to pair you off in terms of genetic compatibility. However as I had explained to you last night, I was able to convince them otherwise thus allowing us to sort all of you using the Sorting Hat. This will give you more benefits in terms of actual compatibility and personal preference. The Sorting Hat will ensure that your future spouse is someone with the most potential for you to build a good life together. The sorting will begin as of now."

Resentfully, the students watched as Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will step forward and put the hat on. Your future spouse will be joining you shortly."

"Abbott, Hannah."

All eyes instantly turned to look for the said girl in the sea of students with yellow and black ties. The Hufflepuff girl was pale as a sheet by the time she stumbled to the stool and shakily reached for the old hat. A moment's pause-

"Ernie Macmillan!" shouted the hat. She hastily removed the hat and stood to the side before Ernie Macmillan appeared next to her. Undoubtedly, they were both relieved though not exactly thrilled. It could had been worst after all.

"Bones, Susan."

Susan was not any better than Hannah as she moved forward but it seemed that being a Hufflepuff finally had its perk and their kind nature was paid off somehow as the Sorting Hat shouted, "Terry Boot!" and the girl looked more relieved than anything.

"Brown, Lavender!"

The blonde witch sauntered to the hat hesitantly and crossed her arms as she waited for the hat to decide while the Weasley twins were having the time of their life nudging Ron from both side.

"Won-Won! Won-Won!" Fred chanted not so quietly next to a very flushed Ron.

"Don't be ridiculous." He quickly retorted while scrambling to clutch Hermione's hand. "I already have Hermione."

"Seamus Finnigan!"

The Weasley twins instantly let out a loud groan while Ron was looking smug and partly relieved. On the other hand, the elected boy's first reaction was to scratch his head in confusion, torn between feeling thankful or the other way around. He eventually trudged his way to his now _soon-to-be_ _wife_.

"Awkward." George commented, indicating the most likely shattered friendship between the two.

"Bulstrode, Millicent!"

"My bet is on Malfoy." Fred whispered with a wicked smile. Unfortunately, she was immediately paired off with an equally sullen Vincent Crabbe. "They will make some ugly babies." He remarked with a judging look.

Smack.

"That's not very nice, Fred."

" _Ow_!"

"Chang, Cho." The Ravenclaw girl slowly made her way to the stool, glancing around nervously. If anything, she looked more disturbed than ever and Hermione wondered briefly if this Marriage Law is going to be the new cause of her another failed attempt at N.E.W.T. and another repeat of her final year. She sat on the stool for a moment, waiting for the hat to decide with an anxious look while occasionally biting her lips.

"Fred Weasley!"

"Bloody hell," Fred halted in the middle of rubbing his injured head from Hermione's powerful blow and gawked in disbelief. "Me? As in, really me?" He began, pointing at himself before flailing around wildly. "There must be some kind of mistake!"

"Mister Weasley, please join your fiancée." Professor McGonagall said sternly before returning to the long parchment. Still in disbelief, Fred looked around at the other Gryffindors, desperate for some assurance that it was just a really, _really_ bad joke.

"Go on, Fred." George prodded gently, helping his twin getting on his feet. Fred eventually dragged himself to the growing line of couples, standing awkwardly next to a distraught Cho Chang.

The next in line was a Slytherin girl named Tracey Davis and the Great Hall instantly fell into silence when the hat suddenly called out, "Neville Longbottom!" and a loud thud resounded through the hall.

"No, I'm fine. Just leave me alone for a bit." Neville insisted as Hermione attempted to help him in concern. "Do not touch me!" He snapped when a few boys also tried to help him.

"Leave Mister Longbottom alone." Professor Dumbledore stated calmly. "Moving on, Minerva."

"Greengrass, Astoria."

All of the Slytherin boys positively perked up once hearing her name and they watched with utmost interest as she put the hat on. Even Malfoy was currently staring at her though he wished nothing more than someone else to be paired up with the witch. It was a known fact among the Slytherin house members that he was originally to be bethrothed to the younger one because of their so-called respectable pure-blood marriage tradition.

After a few moment of consideration, the Sorting Hat bellowed, "Harry Potter!"

Malfoy's jaw dropped and so do the rest of the seventh years.

"Potter?" Blaise Zabini repeated in antonishment.

"How did he gets so lucky?" Theodore Nott protested.

Malfoy sneered. "He's the Boy-Who-Lived after all."

Apparently, the Gryffindor was not having the same thought. His emerald eyes blinked profusely, stunned and deeply rooted to his seat. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Ginny was as rigid as a board while Hermione had one hand slapped across her mouth. The urge to use the Summoning Charm on his Firebolt or joining Neville on the floor were weighing on his mind when Dean recovered from his shock and gave him a slight push so he was forced to go through the sudden endless and lengthy walk to the waiting girl.

"Very well then." Professor McGonagall said though her concern eyes gave a quick glance at him. "Greengrass, Daphne!"

It took _four_ of the Gryffindor boys to hold the selected boy back after his name was called out and he tried to make a run for the Entrance Hall while the Slytherin boys groaned in unison. The top Slytherin girls were officially crossed off the list.

"I should be more thankful it seems." Fred chuckled as George begrudgingly made his way to a frowning Daphne. He was staring at the floor longingly as he went, wishing for the floor to swallow him alive already.

"Lovegood, Luna."

Unlike the other girls, there were no surprise when Luna calmly rose from her seat and simply strolled between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables. She sat with her hands clasped together neatly and her silvery grey eyes focused on nothing in particular around the hall. Too serene and well-composed as if the Sorting Hat is not about to announce the name of her future spouse, one that she is definitely not supposed to find now.

"Theodore Nott!"

"You're _joking_!" Theodore Nott said loudly with a scandalized look. "That..That's Loony Lovegood!"

"At least, she is a pure-blood." Blaise Zabini muttered unhelpfully. Theo glared at the Italian before letting an even louder whining as Professor McGonagall beckoned him to step forward. In spite of that, Luna casually greeted him with a smile and dreamily pointed out the nice weather while he just stared at her with a dumbfounded look.

In the meantime, Parvati Patil just got paired up with an esctatic Dean Thomas and the Great Hall was instantly surrounded with explosive applause and catcalling for the happy couple. Dean sprinted to the front with a huge grin and attempted to jump on his future bride if it wasn't because of Dumbledore's quick jinx. The tension that had filled the hall since the many odd couples' pairing suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"Yeah!" He yelled when he settled next to a grinning Parvati and fist-pumped in victory.

"Right then, Mister Thomas." Professor McGonagall interjected but she was also smiling slightly. "Patil, Padma!"

The students watched in interest as the hat rested on her shiny black hair, eager for another good news. However, the hat unexpectedly took a long time to decide with Padma. A prolonged silence engulfed the hall as they waited with bated breath.

Those seconds of silence past when finally, "Gregory Goyle!" was shouted by the Sorting Hat.

"Someone bring Madam Pomfrey!" Ginny shrieked while standing up hastily. "That poor girl is about to have a heart attack!"

That was particularly true since Padma Patil was frozen on the stool with wide, terrified eyes. She almost slipped and ended up on the floor if her twin had not rushed to her side. She was brought to the Ravenclaw table, where Parvati and Dean tried to comfort her. Hermione caught Goyle staring at the girl and swore she saw a flash of hurt swimming in his eyes.

"Parkinson, Pansy."

Watching the Slytherin witch marched forward with an annoyed look, Ginny sniggered and nudged Hermione. "This should be interesting."

"Malfoy, you reckon?" Hermione said, chuckling. "Bet Lucius would have a blast."

But Hermione was far from being right and the hat had barely reached Pansy's head when it screamed, "Ronald Weasley!"

Everybody literally dropped their jaws to the floor.

" _What_?" Pansy spat as she tugged the hat harshly and ripped it off her head. "That's absolutely rubbish! He's a Weasley!"

"This is bullshit!" Ron bellowed from the Gryffindor table and almost this close to climbing up the table in protest if it wasn't because of his housemates prying him off. "I demand a redo!"

"Enough, Mister Weasley, Miss Parkinson." Professor McGonagall reprimanded strictly. "The pairings are final. Unless of course, you would rather surrender your magic or imprisonment in Azkaban."

There was silence for a moment. Ron was frowning deeply, still refusing to approach the witch while Pansy looked plainly disgusted.

"Bring it on," Pansy hissed at last, breaking the silence. "I would rather have a Dementor's kiss than popping little redheads out!"

Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes because she saw right through the girl. Undeterred with the younger witch's all talk, she clearly called out, "Mister Weasley! Up here, if you please!"

With a loud grumbling, Ron eventually stomped to the Slytherin witch. They kept an excessive distance between each other, both giving the impression of quite ready to torture or murder someone with a simple flick of their wands. They might even succeed on giving Bellatrix Lestrange a run for her money and putting Lord Voldemort to shame.

"Weasley, Ginevra."

"She sounds like mum." Ginny mumbled before she sauntered to the stool and jammed the ruddy hat on her head. She tapped her foot impatiently as the hat remained still and silent for a while. Her three brothers at the side watched with a serious look, ignoring their own messed up partner for now.

"Blaise Zabini!" hollered the hat at last, sealing Ginny's fate as the future Mrs. Zabini. Blaise let out an audible gasp but Ginny just started laughing and for a moment, Blaise Zabini was scared for his dear life that he just got matched with a mentally unstable witch.

"Oh Merlin, are you serious?" Ginny questioned when Professor McGonagall furrowed her brows in concern. With a hesitant nod from the older witch, Ginny quickly turned white as a ghost before unceremoniously falling from the stool. As if on cue, this caused quite a stir but to Blaise's surprise, the loud protest wasn't even from her or any of her brothers but from her impressive number of fanboys. ("I will definitely have to sleep with _Protego Totalum_ all over me after this.") Even the already partnered up boys were growling in protest while Ginny simply looked terrified by now. Or so they thought because Blaise swore he saw her lips curling into a barely noticeable proud smirk.

"Right-"

"Professor McGonagall?" Hermione's hand suddenly shot in the air as if she was in a class just as Dumbledore managed to quiet down the crowd.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"I believe you missed my name." She simply stated. She had noticed that they were called in order by their last names, alphabetically. In that case, her name was supposed to come out before the Greengrass sisters. She was about to ignore this in the beginning and wished that she would magically end up with nobody. However, she eventually acknowledged that was less likely to happen and a quick glance around the hall told her that she was running out of decent choice especially with Cormac McLaggen still in the list.

"Ah yes, it seems so. It must had slipped out of my mind because of the.. _pairings_." She glanced briefly at the couples as she said so before Hermione was requested to step forward and went through the sorting first before the remaining seventh year girls.

Hermione sucked in a deep gulp of air as she unwillingly stood up and staggered to the hat. She shut her eyes tightly as the hat came in contact with her head, praying hard for her future husband to be anyone but the insufferable Gryffindor. A few minutes passed as the hat took an even longer time to decide with her. Harry and Ron exchanged a quick look of concern at the side while the rest were holding their breath in anticipation, looking forward to the fate of the last member of the Golden Trio.

Clawing at her own thigh right now, Hermione grew restless as the hat showed no sign of producing a single word. Her heart was already beating wildly, thumping against her ribcage with such force it was almost amusing. In their eyes, she also looked ready to puke her guts out right then and there. But long ago, two people had been bound together by Fate itself. With a clear, loud voice, the hat finally bellowed, "Draco Malfoy!"

A wave of gasps broke out among the crowd and spreaded out like wildfire around the hall as they gawked with their jaws open and tongue hanging out in incredulity at the newly paired couple. This had to be the most absurd one yet.

On the other hand, Draco Malfoy was on the verge of tearing his head out. He did _not_ see that coming. When all of the girls around his age were already called out earlier, he registered with a sense of relief that he was about to pair off with someone slightly younger and utterly unfamiliar instead. However, the sudden turn of events certainly was uncalled for. Swallowing heavily, he took a small step back but it would obviously do him little good.

"Hermione?" Meanwhile, Hannah Abbott, who was the closest one to the stunned girl, cautiously took a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Is she okay?" Ginny inquired worriedly.

"You got to be kidding me." She muttered at last.

And then, there was the inky darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 : Sirius's Wise Words**

Hermione's eyes snapped open. She was lying in the hospital wing. Her friends, sporting a sullen look, were gathered around her bed. Harry and Ron were also there, looking as if they were at a funeral.

"Hermione!" Luna exclaimed, having noticed her first. "How are you feeling?"

She was feeling groggy. It was as though her memory was on fast forward. The Marriage Law..the Sorting Hat..and the pairings..

"Malfoy!" She sat up suddenly, drawing gasps from everyone. "Tell me it was just a dream."

No one said anything. They just looked at each other with a clearly uncomfortable expression. The horrible truth sank into Hermione like a stone. It wasn't just a dream after all.

"Where are you going?" Ginny inquired in panic as Hermione suddenly tossed the blanket away and made a move to get out of the bed.

"To the Ministry." She growled in response, searching frantically for her wand. "I'm going to meet Kingsley and Avada Kedavra him myself!"

Ron chuckled ("Hermione is never one to disappoint.") while the rest instantly rushed forward to restrain her. With the combined effort of Harry and Neville, they managed to stop her from leaving the bed. Hermione huffed and crossed her arms with a murderous glare.

"Calm down." Harry said carefully. "There is no use. We talked to Dumbledore earlier and he told us that Kingsley is actually opposing the idea as much as we do."

"Yeah, it's the bloody Wizengamot this time." Ginny added with a look of pure distaste.

"I can still help you to take care of the Aurors though."

"Ron!" Harry and Ginny shouted in unison. Realising this, the two looked at each other briefly before removing their eyes away quickly. It didn't went unnoticed by Ron and with a scowl, he straightened himself up and inched closer from where he had been standing.

"Don't you see? The law is tearing us apart." He stated with a frown. "Hermione and I, Ginny and Harry, Neville and Hannah and much more."

"Ginny and I will never work out anyway." Harry muttered quietly under his breath.

Ron apparently did not heard him. "They are suppose to rebuild the Ministry for the better, not coming up with a stupid marriage law. We did not fight in the war just to receive this in return!"

"What do you suggest then, Ron?" Ginny rolled her eyes. " Vouch our War Heroes tittle? Start revolting against the Ministry of Magic?"

"Well, there's the problem. I haven't thought that far yet." Ron gave a guilty smile as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Hermione groaned loudly and buried herself under the blanket while Harry did a major facepalm.

"Just beware of the Heliopath though." Luna advised dreamily while tracing random patterns on the white linen sheets. By now, they knew better than to argue with Luna so they just gave a tight smile and pretended they never heard that.

"Kingsley should really do something though. He's the bloody Minister for Merlin's sake!" Hermione whined from under the cover. "I mean, at least change the pairings! It would be a miracle if I don't get killed by the end of this week."

"It would be a miracle if _Malfoy_ do not get killed by the end of this week." Neville corrected while smiling.

"You are the Brightest Witch of Our Age after all."

"Tough luck."

"Right. Harry, tell my mum and dad that I love them."

"What for?" Harry gave a quizzical look at her.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Murdering Malfoy is sure to land me a lifetime in Azkaban, you git."

"Not if you make a run for it like Sirius." Ron commented while tapping his chin thoughtfully. Harry suddenly jumped from his seat in alarm, eyes widening in realisation. He gripped Ron's arm and turned the latter to face him. One look at Hermione's face told Harry that the witch had caught on relatively fast. "What?" Ron questioned, looking from one to the other.

"The law applies to all between the age of 17 and 40." Harry said.

"Yeah.." Ron said slowly.

"And Sirius is 38 years old." Hermione resumed.

"So?"

"Oh, Ron, wake up!" Hermione snapped. "This law is affecting Sirius as well."

Ron formed an 'O' with his mouth when the realisation dawned upon him.

"I should talk to him." Harry said while pacing around. "I'm pretty sure he is not happy with this and I have something to ask him too." He added the few last words in a low voice.

"I know someone who will be happy with this law." Ron scowled. "That is, if she's still alive. Bellatrix Lestrange would surely be matched with Voldermort himself. Those two are like match made in heaven."

"Gross." Hermione commented before looking around. "Where's Fred and George anyway?"

"In class of course." Ginny was the one who answered.

Shooting up from the bed in a flash, Hermione looked hysterical for a moment. Within second, she was out of the bed and frantically tried to find her shoes and wand.

"Why - in - the - hell - we - are - still - here?" She hissed when she finally got a hold of her wand. Dragging Ron and Harry by their arms, she hastily dismissed Madam Pomfrey on the way out. In her rush to get to class, she bumped into someone just as she attempted to enter the classroom.

"Watch it, Granger."

Hermione's first instinct was to groan loudly at her bad luck. She looked up and met the cold stare of the taller male. _  
_

"If you're done staring, I will have you know that this class just ended seconds ago." He said in a monotone. "It's time for the new class."

"New class?" Hermione repeated in confusion.

"Damn it." Ron instantly frowned. "I was hoping to skip that one."

"Why did you have to wake up so soon, Hermione?" Harry grumbled while pulling Hermione to the direction of the new class. All of the seventh years were already lining up outside of the classroom when they arrived. They quickly settled behind Dean and Seamus before Hermione turned to look at the other two with hands on her hips.

"Care to explain?"

"It's the Family Dynamics class." Ginny explained since Harry and Ron were too busy debating on using the Skiving Snackbox. "It's supposed to help us cope with the marriage and all."

Hermione was about to reply when Professor McGonagall appeared and allowed them to come in. Much to their dislike, they were specifically instructed to sit with their partners and chose one of the many single tables. With the exception of very few couples, everyone was pretty much glowering by the time they were seated next to their partners. Hermione especially, took an extreme measure of distancing herself from her own partner. The other obviously noticed this but said nothing in return and just continued staring out of the window.

"Welcome, welcome." Professor Flitwick greeted excitedly as he stepped into the classroom and proceed to stand on the pile of books. "Ah, I see that all of you have been seated accordingly." He looked hesitant as he said this, scanning the room with brows knitted together. It was rather understandable considering the many unlikely couples.

"No shit." George said sarcastically with a sneer.

"Anyway, we will start with something very simple today." Professor Flitwick announced. "Since it is your first lesson and I know most of you still haven't fully recovered from the shock yet, you are simply require to take turns and ask five questions to each other in order to give you a slight idea about your future spouse. Be as truthful as possible and be respectful to each other. You may begin now."

From a few tables away, Hermione heard Fred whispering to the person next to his table. "This is mental."

"You're telling me." There was no mistaking Ron's grumpy response. Hermione sneaked a glance at the redhead and saw him having a glaring match with his own partner. Sighing, she returned to her own partner and swallowed painfully.

"Let's just get this over with in peace." She began awkwardly. "Do you want to go first?"

Draco Malfoy finally looked at her properly, his cold eyes unblinking. He didn't said anything but let his eyes boring into her brown one. Eventually, he shifted his eyes and shook his head. "Go ahead."

Nodding more to herself, Hermione took a couple of deep breath. "Right then. What is your favorite subject?"

"Potions. Yours?"

"Arithmancy. Favorite color?"

"Sky blue. You?"

"Green." He raised a brow but remained silence. "What's your favorite pastime?"

"Reading. Yes, reading, Granger." He confirmed when he received the sceptical eyes from Hermione.

Hermione shrugged. "Never thought you to be the bookworm type."

"Looks can be very deceiving I assure you." His eyes tinted slightly darker and Hermione instantly faked an uncomfortable cough. "Do you prefer night or day?" He continued as if nothing happened.

"Day." Hermione answered a little bit too quickly.

"Why?" He inquired interestingly, noticing the rushed answer as well.

"My turn." Hermione cut off. "What is your greatest regret and why?"

He didn't answered right away. He spent a few good seconds staring at her instead as if reminiscing something. Hermione quirked her brows inquiringly, unaware of the inner battle in the male's mind.

"..not stopping _her_." He finally muttered quietly. It was barely above a whisper that Hermione had to strain her ears to hear. "Nobody deserve that even if it's you."

"Oh."

Hermione gnawed on her lips awkwardly. She was clueless on how to respond to that. Hearing his confession about that fateful day was certainly not what she expected to hear any sooner. Ever if she was to be honest. It was just not something that you can easily expect to hear from the very person that had spent the last seven years tormenting you after all.

"What is your best memory yet?"

"Huh?"

"I still have two questions to go, Granger." He simply stated as if he did not just confessed what Hermione thought should be his deepest secret.

"Oh, right." She replied hastily. She furrowed her brows in concentration and smirked when she suddenly came up with the most perfect answer. "Slapping you in our third year."

Instead of being offended, he suddenly curled his lips into the tiniest hint of a smile. "You can pack a fair punch, I'll give you that."

"Why, thank you." Hermione replied mockingly while flipping her hair. "Last one, mum or dad?"

"Father." He responded in a heartbeat, surprising the witch slightly. She was expecting for him to answer the other way around for sure. "He's a very decent man once striped off all of the pretense, Granger."

Hermione mustered her most unconvinced look.

" _Expelliarmus_!" The sudden cry of incantation took the whole class by surprise as they whipped their heads around and tried to locate the source. They finally found Ron doubled over on the floor, his wand pointed at Pansy with a deathly glare. Pansy was also directing her wand at the male, the spell missing her by an inch. Her face was red with anger and her chest heaved with the tornado of fury swirling inside her.

"Do not challenge me, Weasley!" She spat furiously.

"Miss Parkinson! Mister Weasley!" Professor Flitwick shrieked and nearly toppled out of sight as he tried to rush to the couple hurriedly. "Calm down and please lower your wands. There is no need for such hostility."

But the two didn't moved an inch and continued to narrow their eyes in each other's direction instead. Ron had managed to get to his feet and he was towering over the smaller female. Professor Flitwick was walking as fast as he can to them though he appeared quite hesitant to cast a spell on any of them. Out of nowhere, their wands suddenly flew out of their hands and Hermione watched as it flew right past her to the waiting hand of none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Last question, Granger." He said casually while twirling the wands in his hand. "How many kids do you want?"

Hermione was instantly convinced she will never figure out which one surprised her the most. The sudden act or the last question.

"I hope the Wizengamot burn in hell!" Ron snapped angrily as they made their way back to the portrait of the Fat Lady. The latter had been cursing every single existence of the members of the Wizengamot non-stop since they were released from the torturous first lesson of their Family Dynamics class. Hermione had long given up on telling him off for the long list of offensive terms while Harry simply looked highly amused.

"Wanglewort."

"Correct." The Fat Lady said and her portrait swung open towards them like a door. The Gryffindor common room was loud as usual and brimming with conversation between the younger students. Harry instantly headed straight to the fireplace, where he took out a small pouch from his pocket.

"Where did you even get that?" Hermione questioned suspiciously as she peered at the small pouch. "Tell me you didn't steal it."

Harry rolled his eyes."Hermione, it's just two Sickles a scoop. I can buy as much as I want and take a dive into it."

"Yes but-"

"Sirius gave it to me, okay? In case we need to talk to him." Harry finally relented. "I broke the mirror so it's not exactly practical if we want to have a proper conversation with him."

"Fine."

Harry threw a pinch of the Floo powder into the grate, causing emerald flames to burst into life there. The younger students watched in amazement though the Golden Trio paid no heed to it. They no longer had anything to be scared of since Harry had made sure to clear Sirius of all charges after the war.

"So?" Ron asked impatiently as Harry suddenly pulled out of the fire.

Harry coughed, having accidentally inhaled some of the ash. "He's coming in a few minutes. Tonks said he's currently feeding Buckbeak."

"I still think we should have given Buckbeak to Hagrid back." Hermione commented in disapproval. "Animals are supposed to be in their natural habitats."

"Thinking of joining animal rights activists now, are you?"

"Shut up, Ron."

But Sirius's head was already sitting in the fire by that time and Harry quickly scrambled to crouch down by the hearth. "Sirius, how are you?"

"Never mind me." The older wizard said dismissively. "How are you feeling?"

"Dying." Harry deadpanned.

"Can't say I didn't expect that." Sirius chuckled. "Find out the pairings yet?"

Harry nodded sullenly and began listing the many strange pairings. Undoubtedly, Sirius had a look of mild amusement with deeply furrowed brows when Harry was finished.

"This is like a recipe for disaster." He commented thoughtfully.

"Exactly but we'll get to that in a minute. I have more pressing issue to ask you about." Harry took a quick glimpse behind his back, making sure Hermione and Ron were still deeply engaged in their long battle of words with each other.

"What?"

"You have mentioned before that Wilkes and Rosier were killed by Aurors during the first war?" Harry replied in a hushed voice.

"I did."

"Does Rosier has a direct descendant or immediate family?"

"I have no idea, Harry." Sirius said. "Why?"

"Because there is a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with the same name." Harry revealed.

"So, you're saying he's a Death Eater?" Sirius said slowly.

"I don't know but there is just something wrong with him the moment I set my eyes on him and I'm kind of been having this weird dreams this lately too. Not to mention, I just feel edgy and unsettled. Besides, we know that wizards with the same name are usually related in someway or another."

"You're right. I'll check if he is somewhere on the tapestry-"

But Sirius never got to finish his words as Hermione had finally took a notice of him and Harry immediately gave a silence warning as in not to say a thing yet. He was feeling rather hesitant to say anything about it to Hermione in order not to burden the poor witch any further especially with the ongoing Marriage Law and it was just a mere suspicion after all. Thankfully, Sirius instantly got the message and smoothly switched the topic to the Marriage Law instead. When they were finally about to retreat to bed that night, Sirius gave one last look full of meaning at Harry and muttered with a smile.

"What's life without a little risk, Harry."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 : More Bloody Madness  
**

"I think I just lost my appetite for a week." Ron deadpanned as he took a seat next to Neville for breakfast the next day. Noticing that one particular Slytherin witch was also marching furiously to the Slytherin table, even Neville was able to guess what is the cause without asking.

"Welcome to the club." Seamus retorted back, having accidentally heard the other. He was currently tossing his food around in the plate, an obvious proof of his words.

"I don't get what are you even complaining about, mate." Dean interrupted. "Lavender is not that bad."

"True. At least, you don't have to marry a Slytherin." Nevilled added.

"Preach." The Weasley twins said in unison just as they appeared and sat across the table.

"You're marrying a Ravenclaw, Fred."

"Oh, I know that." Fred said while reaching for the pumpkin juice. "But it's just as bad anyway."

"Bad as in how? You got the Ravenclaw princess!" Seamus exclaimed in disbelief.

Fred raised a brow. "Do we look like we belong to each other? Like seriously."

Nobody had an answer to that. Obviously, the Sorting Hat was not thinking straight when it decided to throw the two into a mariage. They hated to admit it but most of the couples did made sense in one way or another but Fred and Cho Chang were simply a mind-boggling puzzle.

"Actually, I think you guys look cute together." Ginny commented as she arrived with Harry and Hermione in tow.

"Things are looking good too for you and Zabini it seems." Fred said sarcastically. He saw how the Italian almost toppled out of his seat yesterday when Ginny snapped and directed her wand towards his family jewel under the table. He didn't quite caught the exact words but Ginny was not known to hex anyone out of blue.

Ginny faked a gag almost instantly. "Hell no, tell them to have fun dragging my dead body to the altar."

"He can't be that bad." Hermione said.

"Hermione, the first question he asked me yesterday is would you be open to a threesome." Ginny had a disgusted look on her face. "Apparently, he is a very sensitive Italian man and leaving your fangirls just like that is extremely heartless and bad manner."

Hermione was left with her mouth wide open.

"I'll kill him."

"Not if I do it first."

"We'll get his grave ready."

"Guys, no." The boys stared in confusion at the calm redhead. "I got this." Ginny calmly grabbed a toast and took a bite. She was staring at the Slytherin table and everybody immediately followed suit. Blaise Zabini can be seen eating his breakfast, albeit a little bit strange because he was sitting in a very odd position. The Weasley twins though, grinned almost in unison.

"Nice." George commented

"That's got to hurt big time." Fred added.

Ron furrowed his brows in confusion. "He looks like he has a massive pus-filled boils-" He stopped mid-sentence and blinked at Ginny.

"That's what it is, isn't it?" Harry helped to inquire. Ginny just shrugged and chuckled. The Gryffindors exchanged a look with each other before they began laughing loudly and pounding their fists on the table.

"Brilliant!"

"Damn, you go girl!"

"So, that's what it is. You gave me quite a sleepless night listening to his whimpers, Weasley." The laughing stopped all at once when Draco Malfoy suddenly appeared uninvinted at the table. His face was void of any emotion but there was a small amused smile playing on the corner of his lips. He nonchalantly took a seat next to Hermione and helped himself to a bowl of porridge. The Gryffindors stared at him with a dumbfounded expression and just trailed after his every move.

"Okay, confess!" Ron spoke first. "Which dunderhead told this bouncing ferret it's perfectly fine to sit here?"

"If there's any dunderhead here, that would be you, Weasel."

"No fighting." Hermione reprimanded. "It's me, Ron because-"

"Why would you even do that?" Ron shrieked, not allowing Hermione to finish her words.

"Shut up and let her finish if you want to know, you birdbrain."

"He - called - me - a - birdbrain!"

Hermione did a major facepalm when it escalated quickly and the two began throwing insults to each other. Hermione leaned slightly closer to Ginny and scoffed.

"I guess this is a bad time to tell him about the engagement ball then."

"What engagement ball?" George questioned in horror. "Please tell me it's not what I'm thinking."

"Unfortunately, it is." Hermione replied with an apologetic grin.

"Bloody hell." George dropped his spoon in an instant. "I think I'm going to go and drown myself now." He said, making a move to get out of his seat and sprinted out of the Hall. Fred quickly went after him while Seamus and Neville dropped their heads onto the table in defeat.

"Where are they going?" Ron asked with a huff just as Harry managed to cease his fight with the Slytherin.

"Somewhere George can drown himself."

"Why?"

"Because of the upcoming engagement ball." Dean supplied with a grin. Ron felt his jaw hit the floor at this statement. Needless to say, his first reaction was to scream his head off.

"You're joking!"

"No, he's not, Weasel." Draco snapped. "That's why I'm here in the first place, you dunderhead ball of deaf ignorance."

"Exactly, Ron. Since Malfoy is the Head Boy and I'm the Head Girl, Professor McGonagall just told us this morning that we are instructed to supervise the whole thing so we have to use every moment possible to keep things on track. We are kind of short on time." Hermione explained.

Ron dramatically threw his hands in the air. "This is bloody madness!"

"Obviously." Ginny muttered under her breath. She was not particularly fond of the idea either especially since she was a prefect and required to participate in the preparations as well. Her first impression of her Italian husband-to-be was not exactly anywhere near convincing that the Sorting Hat knew what it was doing. Thus, participating in the preparation of announcing her doom was pretty much sickening.

"It's mandatory attendance for all of the couples." Hermione informed hesitantly. "Because the Ministry insists on publishing it in Daily Prophet."

"No fuck this, I'm done. I'm so done." Ron shook his head repeatedly in denial. "I'm not taking Parkinson to the ball."

"We're so having a Halloween Costume Ball. Couple costume on top of that." Draco commented out of nowhere while Hermione raised a brow. "What? It will be fun. Pansy and Weasel would be a sight to see."

"Great, I'm going as the Wizengamot." Ron hissed. "I'll be sure to burn myself and make the front page."

"It's on Halloween night?" Ginny asked, cringing at the thought of wearing a couple costume with Blaise. "Oh Merlin, Zabini better not try to force me into wearing something stupid."

Draco sniggered. "I doubt so."

"We are not having a Halloween Costume Ball." Hermione said while rolling her eyes. "It's unfitting for a formal event."

"We can add a formal dress code."

"Nice one, Malfoy. It will certainly take your mind off the real purpose of the event a bit." Harry remarked.

"Harry is right, Hermione." Ginny said thoughtfully. "And it'll be fun unless Zabini manages to find something stupid yet still fitting the dress code."

"Oh, trust me. He will."

"Fine then." Hermione stood up and grabbed her bag. "I'll talk with Professor McGonagall about this. Are you coming, Malfoy?" Draco shrugged and quickly stood up as well before they were off to the exit.

Dean blinked his eyes momentarily. "I just noticed something. Hermione and Malfoy are actually getting along just fine."

"They do indeed and Malfoy doesn't seems that bad anymore." Ginny said. "Awfully quiet than before though."

"Nobody plans a murder out loud, Ginny." Ron interjected.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Much like you planning Parkinson's death in her sleep?"

"More like my death. I'm not going to Azkaban for that pug-faced witch!"

"I'm out of here." Ginny concluded. The boys instantly agreed with her, leaving the red-headed male still fuming all alone. Ron huffed loudly as he watched them, rolling his eyes with a rumble of resentful muttering. Taking a quick glance around him, he fished a hip flask from the inside of his robes and took a long draught from it before smiling in satisfaction to himself.

~~X~~

"Good evening, students." Professor Slughorn greeted as they marched into the Family Dynamics class for the day. "Please, take a seat now." He encouraged while gesturing to the many tables.

"Cool." George commented as he stepped in. "We are having multiple teachers for this blasted class?"

"Indeed, Mister Weasley because of the teachers' schedules and the variety of the lessons." Professor Slughorn responded, surprisingly having an extraordinarily good hearing at his age. He smiled as George shot an impressed look at him before proceeding to his seat.

"Ten sickles he is going to announce more to this bloody madness." Seamus said to Dean, scrunitizing the parchment in Professor Slughorn's hold.

Ron instantly glared at him. "Don't jinx it, you wanker."

"Alright, silence now." Professor Slughorn cleared his throat, looking down at the parchment in his hand. "Today, I was just informed by our Headmaster that he has decided to assist in improving all of your relationship with your future spouse." His eyes were fixed on Ron and Pansy as he said this.

"Professor Slughorn," Ginny raised her hand impatiently. "How exactly is he going to do that?"

"By assigning your own headquarters." Once the words left Professor Slughorn's mouth, a few books instantly came flying into contact with the back of Seamus's head.

"Screw you, Finnigan!" Theodore Nott yelled while shooting up from his seat.

"I will have to live with _him_?" Padma Patil shrieked in horror as she pointed an accusing finger at Goyle. Meanwhile, Neville instantly scooted even further from his own partner while Ginny jumped out of her seat and gave a dirty look towards her grinning partner.

"Now, now, children, marriage is a beautiful commitment between two souls and it is very important for you to have a strong bond with each other." A few scoffs resounded throughout the room. "Therefore, the Headmaster has decided to introduce you to the early stage of living together. Every couple will be assigned their respective chamber, where they will share a common room and bathroom together. But, with separate bedrooms of course until you're lawfully married to each other."

"Well, aren't I just blessed not to be lawfully married _yet_?" Ginny commented sarcastically in a very loud voice.

"Truly blessed indeed." Padma muttered before letting her head collapsed onto the table with a loud thud.

A round of loud complaints broke in the classroom when they were asked to follow Professor Slughorn to their new living quarters. Couples were dropped off one by one at their respective chamber before Hermione and Draco reached their own chamber. After muttering a quiet thank you to Professor Slughorn, they were immediately left to fend for themselves.

"You are taking this surprisingly well." Hermione said as she stepped inside and looked around the common room.

Draco scoffed in response. "As if I have another choice."

"True but I do expect you to put up a little bit of a fight." Hermione replied truthfully. "After all, you are marrying _me_ of all people and now, we are even living together. If that's not enough to make you put up a good fight, I don't even know what to say."

He didn't replied and plopped himself onto the couch instead. His long legs were dangling off the couch as he placed his arm across his forehead and shut his eyes. Hermione stood there with her eyes fixed on the other, clueless on what to do with the abrupt silence. Eventually, she decided to check out the bedroom instead.

"Granger." He suddenly called out. Hermione stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned around to give a questioning look at him. "You do know I'm not happy with this whole thing either, right?"

Hermione instantly crossed her arms. "And your point is?" She tapped her foot impatiently, getting gradually annoyed now. Did he seriously just implied that she was thrilled with the whole thing because she was certainly not and no amount of words can ever explained how much she loathed the Ministry for it. Even if he didn't meant so, his tone definitely illustrated the other way around.

"My point is I'm not marrying you by choice either, you know? The whole law is bloody mad if you ask me and pairing me up with you must be the most batshit insane thing that I've ever heard in my life. I meant, just because I'm being quiet doesn't mean I'm fine with it and not on the verge of barging into the Ministry to kill someone too." He rambled on and failed to notice the look on Hermione's face.

The witch was slowly getting exasperated by time. Sure, they were never on a good term with each other in the first place and he had spent the past seven years making her life a living hell but they were fine with each other since yesterday and Hermione was slowly getting used to the idea of actually being civil with each other. The Sorting Hat's decision was final and she was determined not to give up on her magic so she had half a mind to start getting along with him since a wizarding marriage was not given the luxury of a divorce and they were pretty much stuck on spending the rest of their life together once the binding spell took place. However, Hermione was definitely having a second thought now as she listened to every words that he uttered.

"Wow." She finally spoke through her gritted teeth. "And to think that I actually considered on being civil with you."

Draco stopped talking at once. He blinked once, twice. He furrowed his brows in confusion and appeared to be deep in thought for a fleeting moment before he suddenly snapped out of his reverie and gasped loudly.

"Merlin's beard, Granger, that's not-"

"Oh, I hope you choke to death by the giant squid, Malfoy!" Hermione snapped and attempted to run to her bedroom. But, she barely moved an inch when Draco quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her in his direction. She stumbled onto the couch, where he instantly flipped her over on her back and positioned himself on top of her.

"Blimey, Granger, you are quite difficult at times." He said while shaking his head. "Look, that's not what I meant. I meant, I do mean what I said but not in the way that you thought."

"And just how exactly is my thought?" Hermione hissed.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Come on, Granger. I know you must be thinking it in the most horrible way possible."

"You don't know that."

"Oh, trust me, I do." He countered with a serious look. "You don't even believe me when I said I do fancy reading for Merlin's sake."

"That's because-"

"The point is, I just want you to know that I am against this as much as you are but we are in for good now and nothing is going to change that. No amount of yelling or cursing can change anything at all. Heck, even killing Shacklebolt or every single members of the Wizengamot will solve nothing." Draco slowly let go of Hermione and settled on sitting next to her, allowing her to sit up as well. "So, in the end of the day, we will have to make this work somehow. I absolutely refuse to raise my children with their parents firing hexes at each other at dinner."

Hermione grimaced at the thought. "Bloody hell, where did that come from?"

"If you haven't figured out, my childhood is not all rainbows and unicorns, Granger."

"Did your parents-" Hermione didn't finished her question, too petrified of the idea.

"No, my father never stoop that low and he loves my mother." Draco's expression hardened as he leaned against the couch. "But, I was raised to believe strongly in blood purity and social status and burdened with great expectations on my shoulders. You can hardly felt the love amidst all of that. I will never wish that kind of life upon my own children."

"You do realise your children," Hermione made an air quote. "will be half-bloods, right?"

"Children is children, Granger. Just because the Sorting Hat decided that it hates us, doesn't mean we can start putting the blames on innocent souls. Besides, I think blood status hardly matters nowadays."

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms defiantly. It was starting to freak her out a little bit with all of the honest talk.

"So, you are willing to go along with all of this?" Hermione finally questioned after a brief silence.

"We can start by being really civil with each other." He suggested. "It's better than nothing and since we are stuck with each other already, we might as well make the effort."

"You're right."

Draco extended his hand and lifted his brow. "So, deal?"

"..deal."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 : Massive Detention**

After the unbelievably disastrous week flooded with the overhelming amount of bloody madness, the following weeks were surprisingly uneventful. The lot of them learned to tolerate their assigned partner, though most simply resorted to avoid each other entirely. It felt almost normal to be back in the castle as if the horrifying new law was never bestowed upon them in the first place-which is to say should be the worst kind of reward yet someone could ever receive after battling in a war.

However, you immediately know the peace was obviously never meant for long when Harry Potter suddenly got pulled aside by Professor Slughorn out of nowhere on their way to class. They were barely able to express their confusion before they were ushered to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, where everyone was already seated and patiently waiting for the new teacher to show up. For unknown reasons, the class had already been cancelled twice since the start of the term, and this would be the first time they ever attended the class for this year. All of them were trying their best not to get their hopes up since the last decent teacher they had for the subject had been quite a while and a lot of them still shuddered at the thought of the most recent teacher.

"Put your books away and wands out." Professor Rosier said when he finally entered the classroom. Neville and Ginny quickly shared a look of discomfort with each other since the memories from their last class was obviously still fresh in their minds. If this was a few years ago, they would had been more than happy to comply, but things had obviously changed since the war. The last time they were asked to take their wands out, they ended up of learning the Unforgivable Curses.

However, they immediately breathed in relief when Professor Rosier announced the lesson and it was nothing illegal. They were busy dividing into pairs as instructed when a second year suddenly appeared and spoke to the professor in a rush.

"I'll be right back." He simply announced to the class before hurrying out of the door with the student.

Hermione sighed and took her seat back.

"What d'you reckon happened?" Ron said as he sat on top of his desk and twirled his wand absently through his fingers.

"Must be something big for him to leave in the middle of class."

"Or not." The Weasley twins laughed and Hermione immediately knew they had something to do with it.

"What did you do?" Hermione questioned sternly.

"Nothing, Hermione." George winked. "Nothing."

Then, the door to the classroom burst open and Dean came into view with ragged breathing. He staggered to their tables before stopping and bending over to catch his breath. When he finally straightened up, he had a look of triumph on his face.

"You have to see this." He said with a hint of laughter. "Crabbe and Bulstrode are putting quite a show outside."

The Weasley twins reacted first. They practically jumped out of their chairs and pranced to the door in glee. The rest was left to stare at their retreating backs, contemplating on their choices. It didn't took long before everyone was also sprinting out of the door, rushing to the source of noise. Hermione was half-expecting to see Professor Rosier there, assuming it was what made him left the classroom at first but she was wrong. She only saw a bunch of Slytherins instead.

Hermione had the wind knocked out of her when someone suddenly tackled her to the ground and a jet of red spark narrowly missed her. Cracking one of her eyes open, she saw a mop of white-blond hair.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on?" She groaned as she struggled to sit up after none other than Draco Malfoy rolled to the side. "It hurts like hell, Malfoy."

"I just saved you!" Draco exclaimed while staring in disbelief at her. He stood up and dusted off his robes before taking out his wand with a scowl.

"Protego!" Hermione shouted just as another red light appeared in their direction. "Or, you could have just do that." She said before standing up as well, her wand held steadily before her.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she noticed the impressed look on Draco's face when he saw her wand already in her hold. It was nothing to be impressed of when you just survived a war. It was just her war instinct kicking in and thus, the record time of pulling her wand out. Ignoring the latter, she turned around to inspect the chaos.

It was simply a total mess. Crabbe and Millicent Bulstrode were duelling each other at the center, both concentrating hard on harming each other. Zabini was not far from them, surprisingly trying to back Bulstrode up while yelling in foreign language. Hermione never learned Italian but she was able to tell it was nothing approriate. There was also Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass with him, firing curses at Crabbe as well but the lad was not alone either. He had Nott and Goyle by his side though the latter obviously did more harm than good.

By pure accident, a green light exploded out of Goyle's wand and went straight to Ron. It was undoubtedly the Dancing Feet spell because his legs instantly started dancing uncontrollably. Murmuring a quick counter-spell to himself since Goyle was not exactly a great caster, Ron was red in the face by the time he gained control of his feets again. Everything just got worst when Ron joined the duel and attempted to jinx Goyle before Pansy saw him and deflected the jinx. She was previously against Goyle since he was assisting Crabbe to duel Millicent but any chance to curse the red-headed male was a golden opportunity she would never missed for the world. Then, all hell simply broke loose because the rest of the Weasleys also joined the fight to help Ron before it suddenly turned into a ferocious battle between the engaged couples.

"What in the hell is happening here? Goyle!" The Ravenclaw students were on their way to their next class when they stumbled upon the scene. Padma instinctively dropped her books and whipped her wand out as a loud cry of "Stupefy!" hit Goyle in the chest and he collapsed on the floor.

Witnessing all of that, the rest of the Ravenclaw students quickly scrambled to the opposite path. But, Cho and Luna obviously decided to stay and took their wands out before they blindly tried to deflect all of the flying jinxes and hexes. They carefully moved to where Draco and Hermione were standing with their backs pressed against each other, protecting each other as they tried to stop their housemates in vain. Tracey Davis and Neville were standing nearby, attempting to help to their best abilities as well.

"What happened?"

"Oh, Luna, thank Merlin you are here." Hermione said as she shielded them from George's Pimple Jinx. ("Sorry about that!" shouted George before resuming his duel with Daphne.) "They have been duelling each other non-stop. We need more people to stop them."

"Impedimenta! And what exactly is the cause of this, may I ask?" Cho's voice rippled with danger as she narrowed her eyes in Fred's direction and sent a shield charm. Fred awkwardly raised his thumb up in approval before proceeding to help his twin.

"No time for that." Draco interrupted. "Chang, you take the Weasel twins out. Lovegood will take Weasel and Tracey will get Theo. Granger, you stop Pansy and Daphne and Longbottom better be able to take both Crabbe and Bulstrode. I will take Blaise and Weaslette."

"On the count of 3." Hermione added, already pointing her wand at her targets. "1..2..3!"

A collective yell of "Petrificus Totalus!" instantly resounded throughout the whole corridor as they pointed their wands in different direction. Too caught in duelling each other, the duellers were rendered immobile when the spell directly hit them and snapped their limbs together. Their paralysed bodies instantly fell down due to the lack of balance.

"Finally." Hermione said before collapsing on the floor and swept her hair back from her face.

Meanwhile, Draco trudged over to his housemates and nudged them with his feet. Blaise widened his eyes at the latter but he just sniggered in response. Luna also made her way to Ron while Cho stomped over to her fiancé.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A cold voice drawled from behind Hermione and she gulped nervously. Professor Snape was definitely the last person in Hogwarts she would like to be here at the moment to witness the current scene.

She slowly turned around and looked up. Much to Hermione's relief, he was not alone. Professor Dumbledore's blue eyes were twinkling in interest from behind his half-moon glasses and Professor McGonagall had her lips tightly pressed into a thin line on top of her usual stern look.

"Professor, I can explain everything." Hermione hurriedly stated while getting to her feet.

"I do hope so, Miss Granger."

Hermione quickly spent the next five minutes explaining the whole details in one breath. Draco shot her a mocking look once she was finished, one that she replied with a roll of her eyes before focusing anxiously on the teachers once again.

"A week's detention for all of you!" Snape bellowed furiously as he waved his wand to undo the spells.

But, Professor Dumbledore suddenly raised his hand. "I think I have a better idea, Severus."

~~x~~

"This is his brilliant idea of a better idea?" Draco hissed as they stood before the door and stared in disbelief.

"Certainly very brilliant indeed if he is expecting a mass murder." Pansy responded with a scoff. Everyone else rolled their eyes before scrambling all around to find a seat for themselves, making a point to choose a seat as far as possible from the Slytherins.

George slumped into one of the chairs and grinned at Hermione. "Shame that you are included as well."

"No thanks to you." Hermione glared in annoyance. Apparently, Professor Dumbledore thought it was such a great idea to lock all of them up in an empty chamber for the rest of the day. He reasoned that all of this happened because of their rivalries and bad feelings with each other and this desperate measure had to be taken in order to improve their relationships. Much to Hermione's dismay, she and Draco were instructed to watch over them so she was stuck in here as well and had to miss all of her lessons for the day.

"Tell me this is just a dream." Blaise groaned loudly, scowling at the Gryffindors.

Draco instantly tossed a cushion in his direction. "I have to babysit you lot. Tell me who's having it much worse here."

"Agreed. I was just trying to help." Cho muttered in agreement before glaring at Fred. She had no idea why she even bothered trying to help the lad in the first place, only to get this in return. She was convinced the Marriage Law was starting to mess with her head.

"Why are you guys duelling each other in the first place?" Nevilled questioned after a moment of silence. If they were going to be stuck in here for the rest of the day, he might as well figured out what actually happened. It was unlike the Slytherins to duel their own housemates after all. Their spells were commonly directed to the members of the other houses instead.

Pansy scowled. "Somebody put love potion in Crabbe's juice this morning but Blaise noticed the strange smell and stopped him from drinking it. He was convinced it was Millicent's doing just because she offered him a drink yesterday."

Hermione immediately narrowed her eyes at the Weasley twins, who were trying to hide their proud grins.

"We are just trying to help." Fred whispered.

"That's highly inapproriate." Hermione said in disapproval.

"No harm done though." George said with a grin. "We have done quite a favor for them. Right, Fred?"

"Or maybe not." Hermione retorted.

"Trust me, Hermione. We have certainly done quite a favor for someone. Did you see the look on Goyle's face just now?"

Hermione furrowed her brows and tried hard to recall the event. Goyle had been taken to the Hospital Wing earlier since he hit his head when he fell down along with Crabbe and Millicent Bulstrode, who obviously received the most blows.

"Like being shot with Cupid's arrow." George added while making a gesture of shooting an invisible arrow.

"Right." Hermione deadpanned, totally unconvinced. It would took more than hell to freeze for Goyle and Padma to end up together. Much like how impossible it was for Ron and Pansy to stop trying to tear each other's head at every chance. Oh boy, if only she knew.

"Bloody Dean abandoning us though." Ron piped in while scooting closer. "He tempted us into watching this idiots in the first place."

"Pretty sure everyone starts taking off once you start hexing your lovely bride-to-be there, Ikle Ronniekins."

"She hexed me first!" Ron said defensively. The twins just ignored him and began conversing with each other. Ron sneered and chose to inch closer to Hermione instead. "Hey, love."

"Don't talk to me." Hermione huffed.

Ron sighed and reached out to clasp their hands together. "I'm sorry about this. I know you're upset about missing your classes."

"Thanks to you."

"It's not my fault that pug-faced witch tried to kill me."

"Ron, she's not trying to kill you." Hermione rolled her eyes. "She merely deflected your jinx."

"You should see what she tried to do last night."

Hermione sighed. He was right. She knew absolutely nothing about what was happening in their chamber. The Slytherin witch could be plotting his death while he was sleeping for all that she knew. She said nothing but opted to rest her head on his shoulder and that was enough indication for Ron. He wounded his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Oi, get a room, lovebirds!" Neville jokingly said when he noticed their intimate position. Neville's comment instantly brought everyone's attention to the two especially Draco, who raised a brow. He was totally unaware that they were dating each other.

"Great, I'm marrying the Weasel's girl." He muttered to his housemates.

Blaise patted his back in what was supposed to be pity, but his face showed otherwise. "I get the Chosen One's girl, mate. Watch me getting bloody Howlers when it's published on Daily Prophet."

"Wait until my father sent me a cursed mail for marrying a blood traitor." Pansy challenged. "Or he will just hex me in front of everyone at the wedding. Let's just hope it's a quick and painless death."

"Same here." Daphne said in agreement before staring at Theo and Tracey with a smirk. "Lucky you."

"Lucky? She might be pure-blood but that girl is insane!" Theo said in dismay. "She insisted on putting some weird looking thing in my room last night to repel the Blibbering Dingerdum or something."

"Wait until she gives you a butterbeer cork necklace." Blaise joked in between his laughter.

Pansy nudged Tracey. "How about you, Tracey? Nothing bad to say about Longbottom there?"

Tracey shrugged and just shook her head, indicating she refused to say anything more about it.

Draco loosened his tie and sighed. "Ten galleons my father will hear about this and blow up something." They instantly laughed because that was not impossible at all.

"Ten galleons Blaise's father will put quite a show on his wedding."

"Oi!" Blaise frowned and shoved Pansy lightly. "Ten galleons Weasel is going to elope with Granger and leave you at the altar."

Draco stopped laughing and gulped. He realised that was not impossible either. "Bloody hell, Blaise."

"Oi, hell no." Pansy scrunched up her face in disgust. "I might have to marry Draco then and that's just gross. No offense but I'm over you, Draco."

"None taken." Draco said while chuckling slightly. It was understandable after all, considering why they broke up in the first place. They had came to an agreement that their relationship will never work out and opted to remain as friends instead.

"Oi, you lot!" Fred suddenly called out and they immediately looked up in surprise. "We are going to play Truth or Dare. Care to join us?"

The lot of them instantly sneered. They muttered something about it being a lame choice before dismissing the idea but nobody refused the Weasley twins and ended up of being successful at it.

George had a brilliant smirk on his face. "What's the matter?"

"Scared, children?" Fred taunted while imitating Snape's voice.

"Scared?" Blaise instinctively stood up and clutched his chest with a dramatic offended look. "No Zabini is a scaredy-cat. I'm in!"

Daphne rolled her eyes and tugged on Blaise's robes to pull him down. "You fainted at the mere sight of Voldemort's hands, you thickhead."

"In my defense, I thought he was trying to choke me to death!" Blaise defended. "Plus, he could really use one of my mom's monthly manicure session. Had he been digging in the garden in his spare time or something, Draco?"

Draco furrowed his brows. "I don't think so, mate."

"So, are you in or not?" George interrupted before Blaise was able to speak further. ("Party pooper." Blaise mumbled as he sat down with a frown.)

The Slytherins exchanged a look with each other. It was obviously still a long way before they were released from this wretched place and it was not like there was anything better for them to do either. That left just one thing to do.

"You bet, Weasley."

* * *

 **A/N: So, sorry for the sudden note but I will have to answer someone's questions here since the reviewer posted as a guest. To Natalie, I'm glad you're liking the story and you're very much welcome but thank you for reading too. (On second thought, thank you to everyone for reading too.) Actually, Draco and Hermione did answered all of the questions except the last one from Draco and I have no idea yet if I will ever make Hermione answered that. Taking care of an egg sounds interesting but no idea on that either. Not yet at least. As for the in-laws matter and sex ed class, we'll see. ^_^**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 : Truth or Dare  
**

Harry scratched the back of his head as he dropped himself onto the couch. He stared at nothing in particular as he was reminded of Professor Slughorn's words all over again. He couldn't helped the extreme curiosity lingering in his mind. What could Professor Slughorn possibly meant when he asked him if he noticed anything out of place around the castle just now?

"I should talk to Ron and Hermione." He muttered to himself and made a move to sit up when the door opened, revealing his assigned partner.

Astoria Greengrass was a year below him and the younger sister of Daphne Greengrass. Because of this year's slightly different arrangement, they ended up of being in the same year and had classes with each other most of the times, much like the rest of the couples. Harry never really noticed her before and it was probably because he was too busy saving the wizarding world but the fact that she was a Slytherin also contributed a part of it.

To be honest, Harry was absolutely clueless on how to react to their pairing because he barely knew her. He knew nothing of her except for the few obvious facts. Even during their first lesson of the Family Dynamics class, he only managed to ask pointless questions before he had to help calming Ron down. However, Harry had noticed a few things about her from the time they were stuck with each other. She was unusually quiet for a Slytherin, unlike the constantly sneering Malfoy or snarky Parkinson. She carried herself with a humble, quiet grace and secretly demonstrated a well-mannered behavior to everyone regardless of their blood status. Harry's first thought after realising this was maybe it wasn't that bad to marry her after all.

"Har- Potter?" She suddenly called out as she closed the door and hesitantly inched closer to the couch.

"Yeah?" Harry quirked a brow at the sudden attempt of a conversation. They hardly spoke to each other after all except in the class.

"Sorry for interrupting you but have you seen any of your friends?" She bit her lower lip anxiously. "Because I haven't seen any of mine since this morning."

Harry blinked momentarily. He tried hard to recall his memory before slowly shaking his head. Professor Slughorn had took him to his office this morning and the old man spent the whole morning asking him pointless questions. It was pointless in his opinion but he knew it wasn't for nothing.

"Not even once?"

Astoria shook her head. "I've been to my sister's chamber and she's not there. I didn't see her at lunch either."

"That's weird." Harry murmured. As far as he knew, seventh years only had morning classes for today. "I'm going to check on Hermione and Ron."

He quickly stood up and headed to the door before stopping to peek over his shoulder slightly. He wordlessly gestured for her to come along, in which she did without saying a word either. They walked straight to the closest one first, which is Ron's shared chamber with Pansy. Harry knocked on the door a few times before barging in, only to find a completely empty room. The same happened when they barged into Hermione's shared chamber with Draco and Harry concluded that his friends were missing as well.

"Now, what?" Astoria quietly asked as she glanced around the Head Boy's and Head Girl's common room. It was undoubtedly clean and tidy because of their immaculate nature.

"Let's find them." Harry simply said.

Astoria raised a brow. "Shouldn't we tell a teacher or something?"

"I don't think so because it's nothing to worry about." Harry said. "They are probably just somewhere in the castle. We'll find them."

Astoria was obviously unconvinced but she said nothing. She only trailed after Harry as they left the chamber and Harry suggested to go to the Gryffindor tower first. Not finding them there, they went to the Slytherin dungeon next before checking every places they could think of. They were on their way to the North Tower as their last resort when Astoria suddenly stopped them in the middle of the deserted corridor.

"Did you hear that?" She said.

"What?"

"I don't know." Astoria cautiously walked to the wall and pressed her ear against it. Harry blinked and watched her with a dumbfounded look. He recognized this scene all too well. With a slightly alarmed look, he slowly approached her.

"You're not a Parselmouth, do you?" Harry questioned though he knew his suspicion was very unlikely. He personally killed the Basilisk years ago after all and Ron and Hermione even saw the skeletons.

"Of course not." Astoria replied impatiently before pulling him and forcing him to mirror her action. "There's just something behind this wall."

Harry reluctantly pressed his ears against the wall, straining his ears to find any sound. "I don't hear any-Oh!" Harry instinctively jerked back and exchanged a look with Astoria.

She smiled smugly. "I know, right?"

Harry just nodded before pressing his ears and hands against the wall again. He began moving slightly along the wall to get a better hearing of the faint noise when his right hand accidentally pushed something and they jumped back in surprise. Right before their eyes, the wall began to shake with a shallow rumbling sound. They watched with widened eyes as the bricks began to disappear one by one, opening a doorway in front of them.

"S-Should we?" Astoria stuttered out while gesturing at the seemingly endless dark tunnel.

Harry didn't replied but he took out his wand instead. " _Lumos_!" He began stepping into the doorway while Astoria stared at him in disbelief. Murmuring inaudibly to herself, Astoria casted the same spell as well before following suit. The shallow rumbling noise returned once they walked through the doorway as the doorway closed behind them almost instantly.

Astoria gulped nervously while Harry remained calm and shrugged. "No turning back then."

"How are you even this calm?" Astoria hissed uncomfortably as they slowly began making their way through the tunnel.

"Believe it or not, I've been doing this for years." Harry responded as he inspected the tunnel carefully. Whatever making the faint noise earlier was supposed to be in here after all. However, nothing ever showed up on their way before they halted in front of a dead end. A huge oak door stood proudly there with all four crests of the Hogwarts' houses engraved on it. Astoria reached out to open the door only to no avail.

" _Alohomora_!"

Harry furrowed her brows when a clicking sound emerged. "It worked? Strange."

"Don't complain, Potter. We already get this far." Astoria went in first while Harry was still staring at the door. "Potter? I think you should come in now."

Harry raised a brow at her awestruck tone. Curiosity took the best of him and he quickly stepped in as well. Harry's jaw instantly dropped to the floor.

"What is this place? An old study?" Astoria pondered as she took a closer look at the many tomes.

"This is not just any study." Harry breathed. He let his eyes wandered all around, observing the large study. It was filled with many old tomes and there was a writing desk. It had the feeling of neglect though from the large cobwebs hung from the ceiling rafters. "I believe we're at the Founders' Tower. It was supposed to be a myth." Harry trailed his words dreamily.

"And, we are trapped in here." Astoria suddenly said as she tried to pull the door. She whipped her wand out and tried to cast a spell but it was pointless. The door won't budged this time. Harry instantly snapped into reality and joined the younger, making a futile attempt to pull the door as well.

"I knew something was wrong when we got in that easily." Harry murmured and gave up on trying to open the door. He headed to one of the shelves instead and sat down, leaning his back against the bookshelf. Astoria joined him shortly after that though she kept a considerate amount of space between them.

"Now, what?"

"I don't know." Harry sighed and closed his eyes. "Let's just wait."

~~X~~

Every pair of eyes in the room were glaring at two particular red-headed males with a murderous glint in their eyes. But, they remained unwavered and wiggled their brows suggestively with a matching mischievous grin.

"You're kidding me." Daphne broke the silence while scowling.

"I kid you not, pumpkin." George retorted derisively.

Daphne scrunched up her face in disgust at the term of endearment. She knew he was doing it on purpose to fuel her up and he was good because she could already felt her blood boiling up inside her.

Hermione furrowed her brows. "If we are supposed to take something off when we refuse to answer a question or a dare, doesn't that left us with no choice then?"

"That's the point, Hermione-"

"Because we have to make sure no one-"

"Absolutely no one-"

"Can escape the game."

"Since we don't have any Firewhiskey in here." Fred added. "This is the second best penalty we can come up with."

"But, that's totally unfair!" Ginny protested.

"Life is unfair, little sister."

"You two are savage." Theo commented though he had a small smirk tugging the corner of his lips. Slytherins loved playing a good game after all and they might initially thought this game as lame but the change of rules certainly brought it to a new different level.

"Just don't cry when you're naked as the day you were born, Weasel." Draco said with a smirk.

"I sincerely wish you luck, Malfoy." Hermione gave a weird look at Ron's sudden generosity. "Because the horror of your naked body will be enough to burn my eyes for a lifetime." Draco sneered while Hermione rolled her eyes. Now, that's definitely more like it.

"So, truth or dare or bare it all, people." The Weasley twins announced in glee. They placed the lonely bottle in the middle and George took the first turn to spin it. It ended up on Blaise. The Italian instinctively cursed under his breath.

"Truth!" He cut off before George managed to open his mouth to ask.

George shrugged. "Okay, Zabini. Let's take it easy first."

Blaise narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"I saw you protecting Bulstrode just now. You're not planning on leaving my sister for that monster, do you?"

Ginny scoffed. "I'm willing to trade anytime. Even Crabbe is better than a stupid snake."

"Now, now, that is no way to speak to your future husband, love." Blaise replied sarcastically.

"I'll say whatever I want, you perverted bloke."

"It was a joke!" Blaise excaimed while flailing around wildly when the Weasleys sent death glares to him. "My mom taught me better than that and that is to respect women, you bloody gits. That's why I was helping Millicent earlier and I swear whatever I said to your sister was just a freaking horrible joke."

Hermione shot an impressed look and silently nudged Ginny. She knew Ginny had always dreamed of a gentleman for a partner after growing up in a house of rowdy boys. She took a quick peek at Ginny and saw that she was already looking away with an indescribable expression.

"Merlin's pants, Zabini, calm your tits." Fred exclaimed as he dramatically placed a hand on his chest and feigned a surprise look. "You love your mom, we get it. Now, spin the bottle, you drama queen."

Blaise huffed loudly but complied.

"Fuck my life." Pansy cursed as the bottle stopped directly into her direction. Blaise was already grinning like mad, rubbing his hands together as if in a preparation for something sorely important.

"Dare, huh?" Blaise repeated after the witch voiced out her choice. He glanced around the room before landing his eyes on Pansy's very own fiancé. Unfortunately, Pansy noticed it right away and quickly threw a cushion to his head before standing up to take off her robes. "Oh, come on, Pans! You didn't even listened to my dare yet."

Pansy tossed her robes away and growled. "I don't need to. You're stupid and so does your dare."

"That's not true!"

Pansy ignored him and proceed to spin the bottle instead. Fate sure had a horrible sense of humor when it just had to land on the one and only Ronald Weasley. Ron scrunched up his brows and hesitantly chose truth after seeing the sudden blooming smirk on Pansy's face.

"I found a secret stash in our chamber last night. Quite an impressive amount of Firewhisky there." Pansy smiled in victory as Ron's face blanched almost instantly. "I've been wondering if it could possibly belongs to my dearest fiancé?" Pansy watched in satisfaction as Hermione widened her eyes and whipped her head around to face him in record time. She knew something was up the moment she found the secret stash. It didn't took a genius to figure out that he was either hiding it from his family or his friends.

"You've been drinking again?" Hermione questioned in disbelief. She promptly pulled her hand away and stared at him with an upset look while Ron bowed his head in shame.

"Bad move, little brother." George tsked from the side.

"Trust Ron to screw things up." Ginny added in disapproval as well. There was no denying that the war had done so much damage to all of them. With the end of the Second Wizarding War, the survivors faced the daunting task of rebuilding their lives. With very little help of erasing the memories of the war, they were forced to recount every faces and bloods spilled in the war with every breath that they took. A sense of guilt for surviving was the price that they had to pay for the rest of their life.

Consequently, everyone ended up of dealing with it in their own different ways. Most still woke up in the middle of the night because of the haunting nightmares. Several bottled up their emotions and hid it from prying eyes while some decided to drown the guilt with newly found interest such as sexual intercouse or alcohol and Ron made the mistake of choosing the latter. The overhelming feelings of guilt became unbearable for him and he turned to the only available option for him at the time. It took a while but with the combined effort of his family and friends, they managed to put a stop to his reckless choice. Or, so they thought up to this point.

"So, it turns out that Weasley is a wonky closet drinker." Theo muttered. "Why am I not surprise?"

"I'm surprised he can even stock that much." Pansy informed.

"How much?"

"Enough to last your addicted ass for a few months."

Blaise whistled. "Oh sweet Salazar, do you reckon he might give me some if I use the brother-in-law card?"

The Slytherins just sneered in response. Pansy reached out for the bottle and swiftly threw it in Ron's direction.

"As much as I would love to see Granger hexing you into next week, I would rather not stay any longer in here than necessary. Get on with the game already, Weasley."

Ron begrudgingly did as told and the game continued for quite a while. It wasn't much of a deal until it finally landed on George and the lad's smile vanished into thin air after hearing the dare.

"I'll kill you, Malfoy." Daphne spat dangerously.

"Dare is a dare, young lady."

"You shitty wankstain of a human being." George grumbled moodily as he moved closer to Daphne and scrunched up his face in disgust. Why did they even suggested on doing this game again? Oh yeah, they were bored out of their wits and needed some fun. Unfortunately, karma is a bitch and he forgot he had as much chance as everyone else. From the look of it, Fred did too.

He took a deep calming breath before he slowly inched closer to his supposedly fiancée. Daphne rolled her eyes in resignation. It was pointless to avoid it after all since she was down to her last layer of clothing now. The rest instantly whistled and cat-called once they finally met each other in a heated session of snogging. Ginny snickered as Daphne ran her fingers through George's ginger locks while the latter had his arm wrapped securely around her waist.

"That didn't take much." Tracey chuckled.

"Revenge is sweet." Draco said with a proud smirk. He was still feeling resentful after the twins dared him to confess his undying love to Longbottom.

"Good going, mate." Blaise said while patting Draco's back.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Zabini, can't you at least cover up a bit?" Cho quickly closed her eyes and covered it with her palms as Blaise accidentally spreaded out his legs a little bit too much.

Blaise straightened up at the question and crossed his arms defensively. "Oh, shut it, Chang. It's not my fault that ruddy bottle keeps on pointing at me and my lovely lady there won't cooperate to do the dares."

Ginny sniggered at the side.

"I know you like what you see anyway." Blaise added while flexing his muscles. "It's fine, Chang. I'm sure my lady or even Diggory won't mind."

The Gryffindors froze almost instantly. Luna snapped out of her dreamy trance and blinked. She turned to look at Cho but she still had her hands covering her eyes though her body noticeably went rigid.

"What?" Blaise glanced around in confusion.

"Awkward."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 : Fragile Hearts**

They watched in plain horror as Cho began sobbing, slowly growing louder when seconds turned into minutes. Her face was still hidden behind her hands although her whole body shook violently. Speechless and clueless on what to do, they instinctively directed their eyes towards Fred.

"What?" Fred hissed before glancing uncomfortably towards his crying fianceé.

"Do something." Ginny mouthed critically.

"What am I, her husband?" Fred retorted, looking scandalized. "It's Zabini's fault!"

"Slanderer alert!" Blaise said defensively while shooting up from his seat to point an accusing finger at the older one. By doing so, he unconsciously bared his half-naked body. The Slytherin witches eyed him with an amused look while the remaining girls scrambled to cover their eyes in haste.

"Cover your eyes, woman!" George shrieked while rushing to flung his own hands across Daphne's eyes.

"Bloody hell, Zabini. I'll definitely need more than a crate of Mrs. Skower's All Purpose Magical Mess Remover to erase that sight in my head."

"What the-" Blaise began, looking around for the sudden, uninvited and unrecognizable voice.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped in surprise, staring in disbelief at Harry's head poking out from behind a portrait of a young noble lady in a scarlet robes. The latter waved slightly before stepping out with a grin. He dusted his robes just as Astoria appeared after him.

"I'll Obliviate you to oblivion if you want, Potter." Astoria offered as she caught sight of Blaise. "There you are!" She exclaimed loudly when her eyes landed on Daphne next. She raised a questioning brow at George, but didn't inquire further as she hugged her sister. "Where have you been?"

"Here." Daphne replied curtly, inclining her head towards Ron and Pansy. "Pansy got inspired by Crabbe and Millicent and thought it was such a brilliant idea to start a massive duel." Pansy rolled her eyes at the thick sarcasm in Daphne's voice.

"I know you and Mr. Ginger here are on hanky panky term now, but don't act like you didn't nearly peeled his only ear off this morning!" Daphne turned red in the face before hiding her face in George's chest, much to his surprise and delight. He awkwardly pat her back while grimacing at Ginny's teasing smile.

"Where did you even come from, mate?" Ron inquired quizzically as he peered behind the portrait. There was nothing except darkness and a dim outline of a long tunnel.

"It's a long story."

Hermione and Ron looked at each other. "I think we have no problem with that."

"We are stuck in here until tomorrow." Hermione added after Harry shot them a questioning look. She began concluding the whole story in a brief explanation when Harry demanded for more, occasionally getting interrupted by the slight addition from the other. However, the Slytherin members had other things in mind. Astoria became alarmed as they rounded upon her, cornering her from every side.

"I know what you're thinking about." Astoria spoke first, silencing the rest. "To be honest, I have no idea."

"But-"

"I have no idea, Nott." Astoria pressed on. "I was growing worried when I can't find any of you so Potter suggested to look around the castle. We found a hidden tunnel behind the wall on our way to the North Tower and we get stuck in an old study."

"How did you find your way here then?" Tracey raised an inquiring brow.

A rosy blush suddenly flushed Astoria's cheeks as she avoided any eye contact with them.

Pansy sniggered with a knowing look. "I swear the Marriage Law is messing with your head a little bit too much."

"What is it?" Daphne inquired, unable to catch on. "Did something happened?"

"Think, Daphne. Just the two of them, stuck together in an old study." Pansy said in a bored tone. "It's not that hard to imagine what's going on in there, isn't it?"

"I really don't have to know about that." Draco interrupted in disgust while Blaise clutched his chest dramatically.

"My chance is officially gone!"

"Oh, shut it, Zabini." Astoria snapped. "You're not my taste anyway."

"You have a horrible taste then, woman! Potter is no match for mine."

Astoria rolled her eyes. "It's nothing like what you think, you perverts. Anyway, I think we accidentally bumped into a hidden trigger or something because one of the bookshelves suddenly moved aside to reveal another hidden tunnel and it led to two different directions. We picked the right one and this is where it led us."

"Wicked." George commented with a thoughtful look. He was the previous owner of the Marauder's Map after all but he swore no such thing had ever appeared on the map. But then again, maybe he had been focusing too much on the secret passages leading to the exit of the school instead of what was hidden throughout the castle.

"I swear this castle has a little bit too much secrets for its own good." Draco frowned, instantly reminded of the Room of Requirements.

"Not as much as yours though, isn't it?" Ron interjected.

Draco sneered. "You're one to talk, Weasel. Been thinking of having a drink in your closet tomorrow?"

Ron paled as Hermione's eyes fired up once again at the mention. Cursed Malfoy for reminding the witch all over again. However, he was thankfully saved from Hermione's wrath when the door of the chamber opened from outside. Professor Dumbledore smiled at the shocked faces.

"I believe this is enough." He said calmly, opening the door wider. The dumbfounded students just stared at him though, too stunned to move. "Well? Aren't you going to come out of there?"

"But - detention - what?" Hermione spluttered out while gesturing wildly.

"Would you rather stay in there for a few more days instead?"

Professor Dumbledore let out a light chuckle as he watched them stumbling to get across the room, only for some to land face first on the ground before they hastily got up and sprinted to the door. He kindly stepped aside as they flocked to the door in their attempt to get out as soon as possible, plainly amused with their high determination on not staying together in one room any longer than necessary. His smile grew even wider when he caught sight of one particular couple. In the end, everything went well just as he planned after all.

~~X~~

Pansy walked as fast as she can, resisting the tempting urge to look back. She let out a relieved sigh when she was far enough from the chamber while Draco sniggered next to her.

"I don't get Dumbledore sometimes." Draco said while crossing his arms.

Pansy scoffed. "Who ever does?"

"Fair point."

Pansy opened her mouth to reply only to halt all of a sudden, extending her hands to stop Draco as well. She placed a finger on her mouth when Draco gave an inquiring look, pulling him along to hide behind a pillar.

"..but why, Hermione?" Ron's voice could be heard clearly as the two peered from behind the pillar. They spotted Hermione with her back facing them and Ron standing right before her, his face turning as red as his hair.

"It just won't work, Ron." Hermione sighed. "You know that."

"No, I don't." Ron said sternly.

"Ron-"

"We can make it work. I know we can, Hermione. Parkinson doesn't give a damn even if I'm snogging a hundred witches in front of her and I'm sure Malfoy would be more than happy to oblige."

"What are you trying to say, Ron?"

"We don't have to break up!" Ron bellowed at last and Pansy quickly grabbed Draco's arms as he attempted to interfere. "The Ministry can bugger off for all that I care! I love you, not that sodding cow!" It was Draco's turn to restrain Pansy from tearing Ron's head off. They heard Hermione letting out an even louder sigh as she shifted slightly in her place.

"Ron, the Marriage Law-"

"I know you won't give up your magic, Hermione. Neither do I. But, nobody said anything about staying faithful to a partner assigned by a ruddy hat!"

Pansy gasped. "Is he suggesting an open relationship or something?"

"That's just low." Draco frowned. "Even for a Weasley."

Apparently, Hermione was thinking the same. They saw her shaking her head in disbelief before muttering angrily and stomping away. They stayed rooted for a while until Ron finally walked away as well, leaving a broken window in his wake.

" _Reparo_!" Pansy muttered, frowning. "Bloody Weasley! We are not even married yet and he's already planning on cheating on me. I swear I'll add a fidelity clause in our wedding vow just for the fun of it!"

"Where are you going?" Draco furrowed his brows as Pansy turned around from the path leading to the Great Hall. Pansy just waved dismissively as she stomped away towards her shared chamber with the red-headed idiot. She grumbled under her breath as she made her way hurriedly, ignoring the greetings from her fellow housemates on the way.

"Weasley!" She yelled on top of her lungs as she marched into the living room. Scanning around quickly, she headed for his bedroom next when he was nowhere to be seen there. She blatantly kicked the door open, quite ready to strangle the living daylight out of her supposedly fiancé. But, she stopped short at the sight greeting her. She blinked momentarily as she stood solid for a brief second. "..Weasley?"

She furrowed her brows as her gaze landed on the red-headed Gryffindor, slumped on the floor with his knees brought to his chest and his head rested on top of his knees. A couple of empty bottles of Firewhisky were lying next to him.

Ron exhaled a shaky breath. "Get out."

Pansy gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, itching to reach for her wand. "Look, Weasley, you thickheaded prat. I don't think-" She halted when Ron finally lifted his head, his bloodshot eyes boring into her soul. There were dried tears leaving a trail on his cheek. Bewildered, she abruptly blinked with a blank look.

"Are you alright?" Her lips moved even before she was able to stop it, realising a little bit too late.

For a moment, Ron continued on staring at her. Pansy shifted uncomfortably, regretting the question as she bit her bottom lip. She was expecting for him to chase her out again, ready to oblige this time.

"..no." He finally murmured in a low, raspy voice. He hugged his knees tighter and lowered his gaze to the floor. "I'm not alright. I never was."

Pansy froze, clearly taken aback with the sudden confession. Never before in her life had she ever imagined to hear what she just heard, especially not coming from him.

"Help me." Pansy instinctively took a few steps back when Ron raised his head once again. His face was painted with pained expression, pleading eyes staring back at her. She stayed still, unable to react properly.

"What do you mean?" She questioned hesitantly, looking wildly stunned. Her legs promptly moved on its own, bringing her to him before she dropped in front of him so they were at eye level. Pansy was unsure what kind of demon had been possessing her, but she no longer cared at the moment. Something inside of her told her that this is the right thing to do.

"They don't understand..Nobody understands me.." Ron chanted repeatedly, more like to himself as if he was in a different world of his own. "Everything _changes_. I'm not strong enough for it. Everything that happened..The thing that I saw and experienced..It's haunting me! It's _killing_ me.." His voice was almost pleading as he said the last words. His eyes shut tightly and fists shaking violently.

Pansy furrowed her brows with a stern look. "Why are you like this? Of course you are strong enough! You're Ronald bloody Weasley, part of the ruddy Golden Trio!"

"I have no choice." His eyes snapped open, looking almost hysteric. Pansy's words went unheard by him.

"Everyone has a choice." Pansy replied slowly.

Ron shook his head stubbornly. "No, you don't understand. It gives me the peace that I need. It makes everything disappears. It makes everything gets better."

"You listen to me, Ronald Weasley!" Pansy snapped, reaching out to hold his face in her hands firmly. "Drinking is never the answer!"

"You don't understand-"

"Don't tell me I don't understand!" Pansy bellowed. "You think you're the only one suffering? I can still hear the haunting scream of my victims when I casted the Unforgivable Curse on them! I can still see them writhing in agony beneath me when I close my eyes! Everything that happened in the war is haunting everyone. Not just you."

Pansy was breathing heavily when she finished. Even in his drunken state, Ron saw the glistening tears in her eyes before she roughly wiped her eyes. Ron blinked, speechless for the first time. However, Pansy seemed to think crying was a sign of weakness for she immediately regained her composure and huffed loudly.

"So, don't you dare tell me that I don't understand because I do." She said, pressing her lips into a tight line. "But, that's not important. Everyone goes through their own pain. It's all about picking yourself up and moving on and that's what you have to do."

"But, I can't-"

"Don't you get it?" She shot an annoyed glared in his direction. "It's not about what you can or cannot do. It's about what you _have_ to do."

Ron gazed at her with a weak smile. ".. How?" He croaked without any intention of malice, but it still sounded like a taunting echo to her statement. Pansy finally noticed that he was actually trembling pretty badly, and he was hugging his knees in order to prevent it.

Pansy let out a heavy sigh. "I'll.. help you." She finally said slowly while looking away. "We shall probably do something about your drinking habit first. Getting rid of that should be the key to help you feeling better."

When Ron didn't said anything in response, Pansy grew restless and turned to look at him. She regretted the decision almost instantly. Ron was staring at her like never before, mouth hanging open slightly. She quickly despised the growing warmth in her cheeks, something very contrasting to her Pureblood image in her opinion.

"Don't flatter yourself, Weasley." She added hurriedly. "I have a reputation to uphold and an alcoholic future husband is not exactly a great way to boost it."

Ron was snapped into reality and he scowled playfully at her. Pansy rolled her eyes in response though she had a soft smile tugging the corner of her lips. Something definitely changed between them that night.

~~X~~

Fred glanced around warily as he slowly shut the door behind him. He had headed straight to the Great Hall after Professor Dumbledore released them and remained there for the remaining time. He kept on delaying his return to his chamber until Professor McGonagall finally grew tired of him and threatened to unceremoniously send him back to his chamber using the Unforgivable Curse.

Fred was particularly reluctant to return to his chamber because of what's waiting for him there. He knew Cho was in the chamber for sure because there was no sight of her in the Great Hall. Judging from her state earlier and her tendency to cry over everything, he had a hunch that she was locking herself up in the chamber on purpose while bawling her eyes out. At times like this, he wished he had the steel heart of a Slytherin because a nagging feeling in the back of his mind was urging him to let his concern took the best of him despite his horrible skill in this kind of matter.

"Cho?" He instantly cringed at the sound of his own voice, barely recognizable with the lack of cheerful vibe. It was soft and gentle, filled with concern instead. He called her out again when he received no response, slowly making his way to the kitchen.

He actually didn't expect to find her there. He intended on checking the kitchen for any sight of her in his attempt to further delay meeting her for real. However, Fate sure had a horrible sense of wit as his gaze landed on Cho, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of cold tea in her hands. She was slouched against the chair, her glassy eyes boring a hole through the cup.

Fred counted to three in his head. He inhaled a sharp intake of breath before slowly making his way to the black-haired girl. He positioned himself next to her since it was the only avalaible seat and cleared his throat awkwardly. She didn't looked up, but shifted slightly to acknowledge him.

"Well, isn't this awkward." He commented, chuckling nervously. "Have you eaten yet? Well, of course not because I didn't see you in the Great Hall- not that I noticed intentionally, mind you- but still, if you're hungry, I know somewhere we can get that fixed-"

Fred had shut up almost instantly when Cho finally lifted her head. Her face was blank and void of any emotion even with the slight trace of dried tears. She stared, as if right through him.

"I've been stupid, haven't I?" She asked slowly, her lips quivering.

Fred considered the question for a second. "..No?"

"Don't lie to me." Cho drawled. "Everyone is laughing behind my back, mocking me for still wallowing in self-pity after C-Cedric's death. It's been years, why hasn't she moved on? Her tears could fill up the entire lake. You think I don't know?" She hissed, promptly tossing the cup in her hold. The broken cup hit the floor with a loud, crashing noise.

Fred made a move to reply, but Cho beat him to it.

"I couldn't help myself! Cedric was the perfect guy, who understands me better than anyone else. We were so happy together and he made me felt special amidst the sea of my competitive housemates." She shook her head with a hint of regret marring her pretty face."Losing him in a blink of an eye just felt too surreal to be true."

Tears began flooding out of her eyes again, leaking like a pipe. Fred blinked momentarily before he abruptly let out a loud snort. It was so random that even Cho halted mid-crying.

"How lovely." Fred said sarcastically. "Listening to _my_ fiancée boasting about another man right in my face. A dead one on top of that!"

Instead of crying harder, Cho looked stunned.

"What, cat got your tongue? Say something, woman!" Fred said with an almost believable furious look.

Cho blinked. "You called me your fiancée." She stated blankly.

"Because you are." It was Fred's turn to become severely confused. He intended for her to erupt like a volcano, to stop her from crying every time her dead lover was mentioned.

"Who are you?" Cho blurted out and Fred instantly became alarmed. This is worst than he thought if she was to the point of losing her memory. He gasped and stared at her in horror before flailing around wildly.

"I'm Fred Weasley!" He stated loudly, rushing to wave his hand in front of her. "Blimey, I can't possibly Obliviate you without meaning to, did I?"

Fred became frozen when Cho suddenly wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. He gulped as the flowery scent from her hair reached his nose.

"Just stay still for a while. We have to talk." She murmured slowly. She paused for a moment as she let out a shaky breath. "It's not fair for you, isn't it? You deserve someone much better, someone who can at least give you a chance of knowing her better. Not someone who will break down at every five minutes at the mere mention of her long dead boyfriend like me. But-"

"-the blasted Marriage Law just had to ruin everything, I know." Fred finished with a small smile.

"Yes." Cho said, letting out a shaky laugh.

Fred pulled back slightly while supporting her with his arms. "But, that doesn't matter now, does it? Sure, I used to imagine on getting married when I'm way older than now, growing old and spending the rest of my life with a perfectly sane wife, just kidding, and maybe have a couple of mini-me wrecking havoc everywhere, but there's this one deepest, nagging thought in the back of my mind from the very moment I stepped back into Hogwarts ground."

"What is it?"

"Just a couple of months before, I could just dreamed for today to ever appear. The horrific thought of uncertainty if I would even make it out alive as I sneaked around at aunt Muriel's back room. Very smelly there, mind you. So, when I did survived, I swore to myself nothing could even beat the horror of the war. I could've easily refused to come back, screw the graduation and all, continuing my life as if nothing happened. But, when your life is at stake, that's when everything flashed in your head of things that you could've done."

Their gaze locked on each other. There was an unspoken mutual comprehension between them.

Fred's serious look faded into a chuckle. "And whenever I'm reminded of that, it suddenly seems so silly to fret over this Marriage Law. It could've been worst after all such as me getting a troll for a wife. The Boy-Who-Lived's ex-girlfriend is not that bad."

Cho pressed her lips together, contemplating in silence.

"So, you don't mind?"

"Of what? Having you as my fiancée? No, Cho. Not anymore."

Cho exhaled feebly. "Even if it will take a while for me to-"

"Yes." Fred said without hesitation. "I'm willing to try and if you are too, we can certainly avoid becoming like those two dunderheads this morning."

She didn't replied, but buried her face in his chest once again. A strange feeling of comfort and warmth were spreading through her chest. It had been too long since the empty space in her heart was left alone that it felt almost refreshing to fill it with something akin to hope again. She knew Fred was sent to her for a reason. It was about time she had to stop living in the past and moved forward. And maybe, just maybe, Cedric would truly be resting in peace forever at last.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 : The Unforeseen Prophecy  
**

The next morning dawned very bright and breezy. The Great Hall was full of the smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone stuffing themselves to the brim before facing their first lesson of the day. One particular pair at the Gryffindor table though, was having the most peculiar day in their entire life. They stared as if their eyes were playing a trick on them, occasionally exchanging a look with each other.

"I don't get it." Draco began, rubbing his eyes for the umpteenth times.

"Neither do I." said Hermione, brows closely knitted together.

"I'm willing to blame the Nargles at this rate." Neville muttered quietly into his bowl of cereal.

"One question." They whirled in surprise as Blaise appeared out of nowhere and seated himself next to Neville. Tracey quietly took a seat next to Neville's other side, gaining a nervous glance from the lad. "What in Merlin's big, saggy pants is a Nargles?"

"Why are you even here, Zabini?"

Blaise waved his fork around and tsked. "Is that how you greet your fiancé, Ginevra?" He shot a look of disapproval as he shoved a forkful of sausages into his mouth before resuming, "Where is your manner, woman?" Ironically, the bits of food flew as he pointed the fork accusingly towards the redhead.

"I can greet you with my wand if you want." Ginny snarled.

Blaise gave a dramatic gasp and turned to the others. "Did you heard that? This witch is vicious!"

"She's _your_ woman, mate." Draco rolled his eyes. "Deal with it."

Blaise shrugged instead of answering, stealing the piece of toast in Hermione's plate. They rolled their eyes before shifting their attentions away, focusing on their previous interest again. Unfortunately, Blaise's annoying voice emerged yet again, doing a side comment at everything while shoving foods into his mouth endlessly.

"Does Weasley even know Daphne hates that?" He said while grabbing more toast. "And how did that another Weasley even get Chang out of their chamber?"

Ginny promptly threw the oh-so-conveniently placed spoon in front of her in his direction and scowled. "Do you ever even shut up?"

"That's pure steel!" Blaise shrieked as he dived out of sight.

"That's the point." Ginny replied sarcastically.

"So, did we missed something?" Draco asked, ignoring Blaise's dying whale noise in the background. He raised a questioning brow at Pansy, weirded out by her sudden choice of sitting arrangement. It caught all of them off-guard when she arrived with Ron minutes ago, casually taking her seat at the Gryffindor table next to an equally indifferent Ron.

"What?" Pansy asked, taking a swig of her pumpkin juice.

"You two, that's what." Draco retorted while tossing a napkin at her. "You disappeared on me last night and you just walked in here with Weasel this morning like it was a perfectly normal thing to do."

"And you're sitting at the Gryffindor table." Hermione added, avoiding looking into Ron's eyes. She was still very much conscious of his reaction to their break-up last night even if he remained plainly oblivious now.

Pansy shrugged. "I'm not the only one in case you haven't notice." She inclined her head towards the Weasleys twins and their respective partner, whose demonstrating a good example of Ministry-approved behavior for the Marriage Law. "So, define _normal_."

"Okay, you know what?" Hermione turned to look at Neville. "Nargles is fine."

"Morning." Harry greeted as he arrived with Astoria linked to his arm and Hermione could only widened her eyes in stunned disbelief.

"Come off it, Hermione." Fred said, leering at her. "We're just being a _good_ citizen."

"On the brighter side, we don't have to worry about another detention." Draco suggested warily as he eyed his surrounding. Being surrounded by a bunch of lovey-dovey couples was undoubtedly going to be a tad bit overhelming for him since it reminded him of the expectation to get married soon. To Hermione Granger, the know-it-all Muggle-born no less. He knew he was the one who suggested the idea of being civil with each other to Hermione and he did acknowledged the idea of marrying her at some point, but to actually fall for her or start acting like a real couple was simply taking it too far to him. At least, for now.

"Oh, I'm not going to promise anything there." George chuckled, winking at a smirking Daphne.

They laughed at the revolted look on Hermione's face as she theatrically pretended to chuck her spoon at the happy couple. They were interrupted when the owls flooded in, dropping letters to the oblivious seventh years. Several loud, angry huffs suddenly filled the air when they recognized the official-looking envelope.

"Crap." Blaise muttered, looking serious for once as he took the letter in front of him. "You might want to see this, Weasley. It's adressed to both of us."

Ginny rolled her eyes, but dutifully leaned closer to him. "Mrs. Zabini?" She stuck out her tongue in disgust, cringing at the sound. "Oh Merlin, they better not trying to come up with more mental rubbish."

"You wish." Blaise scoffed as he ripped it open, already catching a glimpse of the content.

".. _you are require to choose your wedding date in a month from now and it is highly advise for you to discuss with your respective partner before deciding_ -" Neville looked up in disbelief after reading it out loud, his round face frozen momentarily.

Fred cringed indignantly. "Blimey, it feels like a bloody assignment now."

"A barmy one if you ask me." Pansy grumbled, boring a hole through the letter. Sure, things had slightly improved between her and the redhead male, but nobody in their right mind would be happy with a rushed and forced union.

Meanwhile, Hermione only sighed after she saw the letter and she barely glanced at it when she handed it over to Draco. Instead, her eyes were fixed upon a stunned Harry. He had the Daily Prophet in his hand and he was staring hard at the main page, no sign of intending to read further. Hermione promptly nudged him and raised a questioning brow.

"Anything interesting for today?"

"More like worrisome." Harry muttered at last. He wordlessly revealed the cause of his concern, immediately earning a loud yelp from Hermione. She snatched the newspaper from him and began reading in a rush. Her yelp attracted the attention of the others and they instantly looked questioningly at both of them. "There had been a mass breakout from Azkaban last night."

" _What_?" Ron spat furiously.

Harry shrugged, gesturing towards the Daily Prophet in Hermione's hold.

"Something is awfully wrong." Hermione concluded as she slammed the newspaper against the table. The rest scrambled to reach out for the abandoned newspaper, gathering around to read for themselves. Once they finished, a look of horror slowly registered on their face.

"But - how - impossible!" Nevilled stumbled with his words, glancing back and forth between the newspaper and the Golden Trio. The people in the white and black photographs at the front page were mostly jeering, as if silently mocking them in victory.

"Carrow siblings, Rookwood, Dolohov, Yaxley.." Draco recited thoughtfully.

"Death Eaters." Blaise confirmed.

Daphne furrowed her brows. "Do you reckon-"

"Likely possible, isn't it?" Pansy said with a scowl.

The Gryffindors watched in confusion, observing their conversation with a million speculations in the back of their mind. George eventually cleared his throat, attempting to attract their attention.

"Perhaps, would you be so kind as to explain to us?" George's eyes were directed towards Daphne in particular. "Please, pumpkin?"

"Pumpkin?" Fred repeated quietly, making a face at Cho.

Daphne opened her mouth to answer, but she was unfortunately cut off by Seamus Finnigan. The latter was gesturing at them to head out of the Great Hall, joining the other students.

"Time for class, you lot."

~~X~~

Everybody was restless during the whole period of the Charms lesson for the day. George won't stopped bothering Daphne as they walked to the class, but she refused to say anything in the presence of other students. The rest of the Gryffindors also attempted to ask their partner, only to receive a reprimanding glare in response. When the class finally ended, the bliss of it almost knocked them off their feets as they scrambled out of there.

"Oh, come on." Ginny scowled when they were gathered around in Hermione's chamber. "You never keep your trap shut so I wonder why did you even bother today, Zabini?"

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Shut it, Ginevra." Literally, the witch had drained every inch of his body. He never knew the redhead had quite a persistence trait in her until he was bombarded with questions by her during the whole class just now.

"Stop calling me Ginevra, you prat."

"Better listen to her if you don't want to lose an ear like me, mate." George interjected from Ginny's left side. He stuck his tongue out as Ginny pointed her wand at him. "She's a bloody menace." He added before hurriedly switching place with Daphne so he was as far as possible from Ginny and shielded by Daphne.

"I swear one of this day, I'm going to Sectumsempra your only ear, George." Ginny huffed loudly, stuffing her wand into her pocket.

"If you're done with your ritual bickering, can we get to where we left off earlier today?" Hermione interrupted, directing her eyes towards the Slytherins.

Draco cleared his throat first, momentarily alternating his eyes between Pansy and Blaise. He finally stood up when he received nods from them, running a hand through his hair before looking at them.

"As you may already know, the Malfoy Manor had been used as the base of operations for the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters during the Second Wizarding War." Draco began hesitantly. "Before the final battle broke out, something happened in the manor and we were coincidentally there to witness it."

The rest of the Slytherins nodded in agreement while the Golden Trio furrowed their brows. Harry especially, tried to recall everything that he had seen through Voldemort's mind.

"I know about the link between you and the Dark Lord, Potter." Draco said once he saw the look on Harry's face.

"What?"

"My father told me how they lured you to the Department of Mysteries." Draco explained, looking down as he fiddled with his fingers. "But, I don't think you were able to see this particular event. I was told you were specifically linked when the Dark Lord is having a strong burst of emotion and this is not exactly one of it. The Dark Lord didn't even thought much of it at the time."

"He's an arrogant bastard, that's why." Daphne remarked, scowling in distaste.

Pansy laughed. "He is indeed and thank Merlin for that."

"Hold on a second." Ron interrupted, raising his hand. "What exactly happened?"

Astoria scoffed for the first time. "One of the Death Eaters came to see him one day about a new prophecy that he heard regarding the Dark Lord. He dismissed it as insignificant because of his arrogance. Not that I have anything to complain about that." She shrugged, displaying a Slytherin-worthy smirk.

"Unfortunately, the Death Eaters were much more cautious than the Dark Lord." Tracey resumed, letting out a soft sigh. "They complied when he instructed them to dismiss it, but they remained alarmed and kept track of the prophecy."

"Probably too scared of making the same mistake twice." Blaise commented.

"And I say, they have the right idea when they did that. It had been proved now that the prophecy was not a mere hoax."

"From what I was able to gather, they did acquired the name of the Seer for safety." Pansy added.

A prolonged silence engulfed the whole room as everyone-excluding the Slytherins-took their time to wrap their mind around what they just heard.

"What is in the..prophecy?" Ginny finally choke out.

The Slytherins exchanged looks with each other.

" _The Dark Lord shall rise to power again when his loyal servant seeks the way through the Life and Death._ " Draco muttered quietly, closing his eyes. He exhaled feebly when he opened his eyes as if reminiscing it was causing him a great deal of pain.

Neville squeaked involuntarily in the background.

"We only heard a part of it."

"The informant was dismissed before he got far."

"It's enough for us to get the rough idea of the prophecy though and I can bet on everything that the Death Eaters did too." Astoria told. "So, if we are not mistaken, that's what they seek for. The mass breakout is not a sheer coincidence. They are going to find the Seer and hear the rest of the prophecy so they can fulfill it."

"Voldemort didn't believed it because he was certain that he was undefeated with the Elder Wand." Harry said slowly. His mind was beginning to see the connections. A nod from Draco confirmed his thought.

Hermione sniggered. "So _Voldemort_."

"Underestimating everything." Ron said, nodding in agreement. "He seriously lacks the element of surprise."

The Slytherins chuckled in agreement, and suddenly it was ridiculous how they had spent the last seven years trying to torment each other. The Gryffindors and the Slytherins made quite a bloody wicked team when they are together. It quickly escalated into a laugh as they looked at each other and knew the same thought was currently occuring to everyone.

"I thought this year is going to be a very normal and quiet life." Harry murmured under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear. He leaned back against the couch and rested his arm around Astoria's shoulder. "Obviously not." said him again, a giant leer on his face.

"I think we already establish that when that blasted Marriage Law was announced." Fred glanced at Cho with a knowing grin. Cho just laughed in response while punching his arm lightly.

Neville nervously wiped his sweating forehead. "We have to stop them."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Draco sneered.

"Do you reckon we will be telling you all of this if that's not our intention as well?" said Blaise derisively. "We would have taken care of it by ourselves if we can, but we really need more people to stop them if they decide to barge in here."

"Here?" Harry and Hermione said in unison. "What do you mean here?" Harry inquired, looking slightly alarmed. He straightened up at once, body went rigid as he awaited Blaise's answer.

Blaise hesitated, weighing his option. "Err..the Seer. She's here after all so we imagine that Hogwarts must be the first target."

"Is it Professor Trelawney?" Harry said without thinking. He was instantly reminded of her prediction about Peter Pettigrew's escape and wondered if she had succeed on making another real prediction this time. That would make it three then, and Harry was sure Dumbledore would be slightly relieved that she wasn't a complete fraud after all.

But, Blaise quickly shook his head in response.

"No, that old witch's antenna is seriously crossed and knotted." Pansy grimaced as if mortified with how he even ended up with that conclusion. "It's the Patil twin in your house."

 _Thud. Thud._

Nobody paid much attention to Ron and Neville as they unceremoniously dropped to the floor. The silence in the room was absolute. None of them made any sound as they stared with mouth hanging open at the Slytherins, a look of horror painting their expression. They did not see _this_ coming.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 : Hogsmeade Trip  
**

 _"You're lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth,_ tell the truth _!"_

 _A blood-curling scream echoed off the walls._

 _"What else did you take? What else have you got? Tel_ _l_ _me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!"_

 _"We found it – we found it – PLEASE!"_

 _"What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME!_ CRUCIO _!_ _"_

 _The silver blade dripping with blood – blurry vision because of the tears – the trembling grey eyes –_

"Granger! Granger.. wake up.."

Someone was shaking her hard to wake her up. It took her a full one minute to understand that she was lying on her bed, shaking from head to toe while gripping hard on the blanket. Her eyes caught the sight of a tall shadow next to her bed, bending over with concerned grey eyes.

"Are you alright?" asked Draco with a strange voice.

Hermione just nodded in response, not trusting her voice to answer smoothly.

Draco sighed, and took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Silly me. Of course, you're not." He turned to look at her, and the look on his face immediately rendered her speechless.

"Malfoy – what –"

"It's her, isn't it?" He cut off, boring through her eyes. "Answer me, Granger. It's Bellatrix, isn't it? How long have you been having this nightmare?"

"Quite a while.." muttered Hermione slowly. She bowed her head, and fiddled with the blanket. She suddenly became aware that there were tears on her face mingling with the sweat. She bent her face even lower, wiping them on her hands as quickly as possible, so that Draco wouldn't see.

"I can hear you, you know," said Draco absently, staring down at his feet now. "Every night actually."

Face dry, Hermione looked up. She furrowed her brows in confusion, unable to apprehend his words.

"Usually, you're just thrashing around in your sleep. Mumbling a bit, but never yelling, and pleading like you did tonight."

Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly. "Is that so? I'm sorry—"

"Don't!" The reaction was almost spontaneous. He looked up in a flash with a stern glare, warning her to stop talking at once.

Hermione gulped audibly. His stern glare reminded her of his father, and it was honestly quite terrifying. He slowly shook his head, and lowered his gaze back in shame. It was impossible not to notice the terror in her face.

"Just – don't." said Draco, almost pleading now. His fists were tightly clenched at his side, and there was a pained expression colouring his pale face by now. "Do not apologize to me, Granger. This – This is nothing compared to what I've done to you! Back then in the Manor—" He immediately halted when Hermione raised a hand.

Hermione let out a soft sigh. "C-Can we not talk about this now? I'm tired. Maybe you should go back to your room, Malfoy."

Whatever Draco was about to say became stuck in his throat as Hermione quickly dived under her blanket, not giving a chance for him to argue. With one last resentful look, he got up with a heavy sigh, and quietly closed the wooden door.

~~X~~

"Stop staring, you thickhead." Ginny hissed in annoyance, reaching out to smack the back of Blaise's head. The latter groaned in response, rubbing the sore spot with an equally annoyed look.

"B-But-"

"Shut it." Ginny snapped before promptly pulling his ear just as Filch, the caretaker, checked off their names against a long list in his hold. It was their first Hogsmeade trip for the term, and most of the seventh year girls had decided to shop for the upcoming engagement ball. What was an initially happy thought for the girls turned into a nightmare when Professor McGonagall suddenly warned the engaged couples to behave accordingly during the trip. It was later revealed about a strong rumour going around that Rita Skeeter had been spotted around Hogsmeade for days, wandering around with her Quick-Quotes Quill and parchments. They suspected that she had been hoping to catch a glimpse of the affected seventh year students, probably wishing for an interview or two regarding the new law.

"It's a miracle they haven't noticed." Cho said sarcastically. She instinctively took a quick glance at Dean and Parvati, who was standing a good few metres away from them. It was a miracle indeed that they haven't noticed the piercing stares, though Dean did take a few quick, wary glances earlier.

"I couldn't care less." Harry grunted, turning sickly pale. "I just don't want to meet that old bat. I had enough of her intrusion during the summer break."

"Same here." Surprisingly, Draco said in agreement. Hermione turned to look at him, and raised a brow. She didn't expect for the only heir of the Malfoy family to be quite reluctant about being in the headlines. It was surprising enough for her to witness Ron doing so during the summer break, and now Malfoy. The wizarding world that she once know was definitely changing a lot now.

Draco sniggered once he noticed the look on Hermione's face. She rolled her eyes in return, but secretly glad that he was back to his usual self. She was thankful that he said nothing when they met this morning, showing no sign that he was there to witness her least presentable, and vulnerable condition last night.

"Next." roared Filch, and they quickly scrambled to pass the grumpy caretaker. They were not going to give him any reason to detain any of them any longer than necessary. Especially not today.

"Where are we heading first?" Neville asked in a cheerful tone, almost skipping in his steps. It had been such a long time since he last been to Hogsmeade, and he was determined to make the best of it.

Draco quirked his brows. "Who said anything about us going together, Longbottom?"

"Malfoy-" Hermione began.

"I'm taking you to the Twilfitt and Tatting's, Granger." Draco rolled his eyes. "You're going to be a Malfoy soon, so you might want to leave all of those cheap rubbish behind. Malfoy always gets the best." Then, he smirked with a malicious glint in his eyes. "So, I doubt Weasley and Longbottom can afford that."

Ron and Neville instantly turned scarlet in the face.

"That's _my_ fiance you're talking about, Draco." Pansy interrupted with a bored look. She had her arms folded against her chest as she held her head high and flipped her hair. "Parkinson always gets the best too, and I have more than enough gold to buy him the whole store."

Draco snorted derisively, but said nothing. Blaise skidded into a halt in front of them, somehow managed to escape his fiery redheaded fiancée.

"Well said, my dear." He clapped slowly with an approving grin. "Merlin knows how painful it is for my eyes to watch my own fiancée wearing those hideous Muggle clothes. Oh, the horror." He dramatically placed a hand on his forehead, closing his eyes with a feigned painful look.

"Nothing can beat the horror of watching your ruddy face, you git."

"Ginevra!" said Blaise in surprise, his voice going a tad bit higher than usual. "Where did you come from, love? I didn't see you there."

Ginny just rolled her eyes, skipping to Hermione's side instead.

"Well then, let's go and spend some golds. It's _their_ golds after all." Ginny shrugged while sending a shrewd look at the males. Blaise gulped, already foreseeing his decreasing fortune.

"Little help here, mate." Blaise looked up to the Weasley boys, who in turn just laughed in his face. Nobody was stupid enough to mess with the youngest Weasley when she had a funny look like that.

"That's Ginevra Weasley for you, mate." Fred patted Blaise on the back with a dramatic sigh. "Come, Cho. Let's watch George and Daphne getting it on in the Shrieking Shack." Cho rolled her eyes as she accepted Fred's outstretched hand, grimacing at the rest no second later. They quickly disappeared into the direction where George and Daphne had disappeared earlier on.

"Let's go, Harry." Astoria quietly tugged Harry to the High Street before disappearing into the Gladrad Wizardwear. ("Oi, take this jittery Longbottom with you!" shouted Draco, which earned him a mocking smile from Astoria just before the witch entered the store.)

"Now, what?"

"I say, let's just leave Longbottom here, and get going." Blaise chirped in.

Ginny instinctively punched his arm. "One more word, and I swear I shall personally kick you out of our chamber."

"I'll take him." Tracey suddenly appeared unnoticed behind them, shrugging when they shot a look of surprise at her. "He's my fiancé after all, and we're supposed to _behave_ , right?"

"What am I, a ruddy item now?" Neville grumbled lowly under his breath, but relented as he allowed her to pull him away. The rest was left gaping in their wake, staring at each other while shrugging. No doubt, just as clueless as each other. Draco quickly took the opportunity to grab Hermione, and pulled her in the direction of the Hogsmeade branch of Twilfitt and Tatting's. He was fully aware of the rest trailing after them, but chose to ignore it. Instead, he huffed loudly at the look on Hermione's face as they stepped into the store.

"You'd think I was throwing you into a sea of Devil's Snare." He clicked his tongue in disapproval, and shook his head.

Hermione's scrunched up face loosened up almost immediately, fading into a guilty smile. But, her tongue still instinctively ran over her bottom lip in anxiety as her eyes raked over the displayed clothes. One look at a magenta dress robe nearby almost made her fainted on the spot once her eyes caught sight of the dangling price tag. It was definitely going to be quite a task to get used to despite Draco's obvious insistence.

"Sweet Merlin," Ginny whistled in appreciation, leaving a frowning Blaise at the front door. But, not before running her finger across his chest with a mocking seductive smile. "Brace yourself, love." She chuckled darkly, and trotted to the welcoming shop assistant.

"I like her." Pansy commented as she appeared next to Blaise, pointing at the Gryffindor witch while laughing at Blaise's frowning face. "She's funny."

Blaise huffed. "Oh, yes, very witty."

Pansy just laughed in response before dragging Ron along towards another waiting assistant.

"Alright there, Blaise?" said Draco without looking. He was busy picking random clothes instead, tossing it into the growing pile in the poor assistant's arms before Hermione was shooed along with the assistant. They disappeared into the back room just as Draco turned with a raised brow towards the Italian wizard.

"I don't know, mate." said Blaise, trailing after Ginny's back when she also disappeared into the back room. "This is still a bloody madness if you ask me. Just a few months before we were fighting on the opposite side, and now we are like star-crossed lovers with an abrupt happy ending." He crossed the room in a few large strides towards Draco, and settled on one of the chairs.

Draco suddenly let out a sigh as he lowered himself next to Blaise. Running a hand through his white locks, his eyes were fixed on the ground with an indescribable expression. Blaise waited patiently in silence. He had a feeling something was troubling the latter, and he knew he will confide in him whenever he was ready.

"It got worse." Draco finally muttered in a voice barely above a whisper. There was a slight hysterical edge in his tone while he stared absently at his shoes.

Blaise scanned their surroundings in one swift, quick motion. After making sure both of their fiancée were nowhere to be seen, and Pansy was too busy wrestling her own fiancé into a bright lime dress robe, he leaned closer while placing one arm around Draco's shoulder. He lowered his voice, and tried to speak as low as possible.

"It it oldy voldy? Or, is it that one bloody deranged aunt of yours?"

"The latter I supposed." murmured Draco. "She was thrashing around in her bed last night, screaming her head off about something we-as in her and her ruddy best mates-found. Reckon it was most probably the bloody sword." Draco cupped his face with his hands, essentially hiding his face behind it. "The mass breakout news must have been the triggering point."

"Did you tried-"

"Everything I can think of, but I haven't tried the potion. She was this close of waking up the whole castle with her screaming, so I had to give up, and just wake her up."

"Why don't you just slip it into her juice or something?"

Draco shook his head defiantly. "I can't do that to her. I swear to myself that I would never let anyone from my family hurt her ever again."

"Mate, it won't hurt-"

"No!"

Blaise sighed, and leaned back against his chair. He stared at the back of Draco's hunched body, feeling his sympathy bursting out for the latter. It was on the first night after they were assigned their respective chamber when Draco suddenly burst into his chamber in the middle of the night, face stained with unshed tears. He quickly rushed to check on Ginny's sleeping figure, making extra sure she was really deep in slumber. When he finally returned to his room, he was surprised to find Draco sitting on his bed with a blank look, almost as if a Dementor had administered its fatal kiss to him. It took him a good few minutes to snap him back into reality before he witnessed Draco's usual snarky self crumbled right before his eyes.

It was the first time he had ever seen the pained look on Draco's pale face. It was as if the last few months in the Malfoy Manor were flashing in his eyes at the moment. He gulped, not knowing what to do until Draco himself willingly opened up to him at last. As he suspected, Draco couldn't bear it. Despite spending the last seven years tormenting the know-it-all Muggle-born, guilt was coursing through his vein ever since he witnessed the witch tormented by his own aunt. He was reaching his limit when it happened, and the scene became engraved in his mind forever. Then, he heard it. Hermione's tortured whimpering in her sleep. That was all it took for him to lose it, and he ended up in Blaise's chamber before he even realised where his feet was taking him.

"You can't possibly keep on torturing yourself like this." said Blaise at last, very gently. "I know it's killing you from the inside every time you hear her. You should coax her into taking the potion for dreamless sleep. It will benefit both of you. No more nightmares for her, and no more mental breakdown for you. Win-win situation, alright?"

"There has to be another way-"

"There isn't one, Draco!" Blaise snapped in frustration. "You know better than I do that there is no other way than this. Stop deluding yourself. What are you hoping to gain from this? Her forgiveness?" Unwillingly, Draco looked up when he heard footsteps nearing him.

"I swear you're trying to kill me." Hermione was holding out the pile of clothes to the assistant, her face twisted at a weird angle as if the clothes was contaminated with life-threatening germs. "What's next, _sweetheart_?"

Draco chuckled before rising to his feet. He dusted his robes slightly, and pointed at a secluded section at the far corner of the store. Allowing Hermione to walk ahead of him with the guide from the shop assistant, he turned slightly, and looked over his shoulder.

"Maybe," said Draco vaguely. "If that's what it takes, I'll take whatever it is, Blaise." Then, he was off to join Hermione.

"Git." Blaise muttered under his breath.

An abrupt movement next to him immediately made him turn to face the intruder, coming face to face with no other than Ginevra Weasley. (Ginevra Zabini soon, which instantly made him shudder.) She raised a brow, crossing her legs while placing her head on her propped elbow.

"Badmouthing your own best mate now, huh?" She chuckled, and shrugged. Then, she stood up abruptly, and pulled him as well. "Well, ditching them won't be as bad then. Come, _love_."

~~X~~

"Sweet Salazar, Ginevra," shrieked Blaise with comically widened eyes. "That's hideous!"

Cackling almost hysterically, Ginny tossed the colourful garment to him. "It suits you well." She grabbed another one, and tossed it right into Blaise's open arms. "They'd bring out the colour in your eyes just fine."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Real funny."

He wandered off, and picked up an equally colourful garment for ladies. He smirked as he tossed it to Ginny. Thanks to her years of Quidditch training, she expertly caught it despite having her attention momentarily distracted just moments ago. She raised it to her eye-level, inspecting the skimpy garment.

"What in the name of Merlin is this?" She quickly held it at arm's length, glaring at it in distaste.

"An early wedding present from me." He sauntered to where she was standing, purposely leaning closer so he was able to whisper in her ear. " _For our wedding night_." He made extra sure for it to come out as explicitly as possible, causing Ginny to yelp, and dropped the garment in an instant. She quickly pushed his chest, and scrambled to distance herself from him.

"Perverted git." muttered Ginny, but there was a hint of a smile on her face for a split second.

Blaise was already doubled up in laughter. Ginny simply ignored him as she continued her shopping spree since he showed no sign of stopping any sooner. That was until he suddenly saw something that made him halted his laughter in a flash. He nudged Ginny absently, eyes fixed on something outside of the clothing store.

"What?" Ginny hissed, refusing to turn around at first. However, the constant tugging from him grew annoying, and she was forced to turn just for the sake of earning her peace. "What - I don't see anything, you foul git-"

"Look."

He was pointing at something at a distance, and it was hard to identify at first. But then, Ginny's gasp confirmed that she finally managed to recognize the outline of two rushed figures. Their gaze met each other, mirroring their confusion.

"D'you reckon—"

"Come on." Ginny was already pulling him to the door before he even got to finish his words. They carefully trailed after the two figures, concealing themselves when needed. It finally led them to the Hog's Head bar, where the two figures disappeared into the dingy pub. Instead of following them inside though, they remained concealed behind a tall pillar.

"What are they doing here?"

"No idea." Blaise scratched the back of his head. "I thought they are supposed to be in the Hospital Wing for a week." The cease between his furrowed brows deepened at the thought.

"Exactly so how did they get into Hogsmeade—"

"Hi, Ginny." said a dreamy voice from behind them. Blaise let out a high-pitched squeal, and jumped in surprise while Ginny merely whipped her head around with a smile. Luna was standing there with her waist-length, dirty blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, her wand behind her left ear while she peered at them through her long lashes with polite interest. "Am I interrupting something?" She blurted out bluntly.

"Obviously." Another voice said, and from behind Luna came Theodore Nott with a bored look. He had his hands stuffed deeply into his pocket, and a ghost of a smile passed across his face as he spotted Blaise sprawled over the ground. "You look comfortable."

"You look happy!" Blaise snapped back, struggling to sit up. "What are you doing with Loo—Lovegood anyway?" He gave a sheepish smile as Ginny sent a death glare in his direction.

"Oh, we are heading to the post office when we saw you." Luna replied before Theo managed to open his mouth. He shrugged afterwards, nodding his head slightly to acknowledge her words.

"Basically, he's stuck because of that old bat, Rita Skeeter." Blaise stated matter-of-factly while dusting his robes after he finally succeed in getting to his feet with Ginny's help.

"Speaking of the devil, there she is." Theo had already pulled Luna into the Hog's Head bar by the time they turned to look at the older witch. In their panic, Blaise and Ginny also hurriedly went after them, wanting nothing more than to avoid the insufferable witch.

Thankfully, nobody paid much attention when they entered. They scurried across the small room, and managed a table right behind a group of hooded wizards. Blaise and Ginny glanced around warily, in search of the two figures they had been trailing after earlier, but they were nowhere to be seen. Though puzzled, they brushed it off dismissively.

"I hate this Marriage Law." said Theo, but his voice was drowned out by the voices coming from the hooded wizards. The wizards were speaking in a hushed conversation, but they were able to catch most of the conversation because of the close distance. One particular mention of the Slytherin house instantly caught their attention.

"—we need to find it before someone else does!"

"I told you, it's not in the castle!" The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but they were unable to put a finger on it because the owner was hissing in a low voice. "Give us some more time!"

"No! We already wasted so much, especially with the Marriage Law in the way."

"Yeah, who knows what that Slytherin brats have been telling the so-called Chosen One." Blaise and Theo instinctively pointed at themselves, almost questioningly.

"I reckon Rosier has been busy around the castle." A quieter voice interrupted.

"He sure does."

"Well, we need the book, and the girl if possible."

"I told you, give us some more time!" The familiar voice snapped back. "It's already hard enough without you breathing down our neck. Now, if you may excuse us!"

All of them instantly widened their eyes once the owner of the voice rose from his seat, and made a move to head to the door. Ginny stared in realization that the two figures earlier were actually seated among the hooded wizards, hidden from view because of their slumped posture. They exchanged a look with each other, shock clearly evident on their face. Blaise and Theo let out a low hiss, fuming with the betrayal.

" _Crabbe_!"

" _Bulstrode_!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 : Draco's Little Deal**

"Treachery.. Crabbe.. Bulstrode.. It's outrageous, appaling, simply despicable.."

Ginny rolled her eyes for the umpteenth times as she watched Blaise pacing around in the room, making dramatic gestures at times while muttering under his breath non-stop. Deciding to ignore the panic-striken male, she turned around, and focused her attention on the far more interesting rack of colourful robes.

"It must be the Wrackspurts." said Luna in a dreamy voice, staring at Blaise with concern.

Blaise immediately halted midway, and shot a look of are-you-kidding-me-now at Theo. Feeling Blaise's piercing stare on him, the latter temporarily looked up from the Witch Weekly in his lap, and took one quick glance at his eccentric fiancée. Then, he settled with a non-committal shrug, and went back to the magazine.

Blaise rolled his eyes, and threw his hands up in despair. "Don't you lot get it? We're in serious trouble here!" He began walking back, and forth all over again while pressing both sides of his head. "Those filthy little traitors..Death Eaters..book! What book? Merlin's pants, I'm close to having a relapse here!"

"I don't really see the problem there." Ginny commented without looking. She was calmly browsing through the collection of clothes instead before pulling out two different designs. She held up the longer design, and bit her lip in concentration.

"Sweet Salazar, Ginevra, this is no time to play dumb." Blaise snapped frustratedly. "We have every right in the world to worry about literally everything after hearing those two useless wankstain of a human being!"

"Oh, screw it." Ginny ignored him, and tossed both of the garments to the pile of clothes on the chair. "I'll just take both." She concluded with a satisfied grin before stalking off to the adjacent section.

"Ginevra-"

"Were you even listening back there, Zabini?" Ginny finally said, not giving him the chance to argue. She remained looking away from them, striving on looking for the most perfect look for the engagement ball no matter how messed up the whole thing is in the first place. "They were arguing about how far you've been tipping us off."

"Of course I did-"

Ginny finally turned, raising an amused brow almost sceptically. "Oh, really? Because I don't think so." She inched closer to the stunned wizard, and traced her finger along his arm teasingly. "You see, if you really did, you would've realised that _we_ have the upper hand here."

Blaise gulped, closing, and opening his mouth like a fish out of water. He was mainly more distracted by the sensation of her soft fingertip pressed against his skin as of now, sending tingles down his spine. "W-What..do you mean?" He managed to choke out, making a loud strangled noise involuntarily.

Ginny retreated her fingers, allowing the tall wizard to breath out in relief. She used it to tap against her chin instead as if deep in thought. "You're really as thick as they say." She mused before chuckling in amusement.

"That much, I fully agree." Astoria exclaimed, stepping into the room out of nowhere. Harry appeared no second later from behind her, carrying heaps of brightly coloured shopping bags.

"Woah, mate." Theo looked up in interest for the first time. "Astoria Greengrass with the Chosen One as her personal butler. That will make one fine headline for the Daily Prophet. Tell me, any luck with the old bat?"

Harry quickly shook his head while dumping the bags next to Ginny's pile of clothes.

"Thank Merlin for that." Harry muttered under his breath before slumping onto one of the chairs. "Hi, Luna." He greeted when he noticed the witch sitting next to him.

"Hi, Harry." Luna beamed with a smile. "You look exhausted. Would you like some candy?"

Harry shot up in his seat, and eyed the colourful treat warily. "What..is this, Luna?"

"Oh, just Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans." Harry instantly let out a relieved sigh. "I think I get the bogey-flavoured just now. It tastes quite nasty."

"Thanks." said Harry as he accepted the candy, wincing a tad bit at Luna's honest remark. He made extra sure to choose the least likely nasty flavour. "Oh, grapefruit." He began chewing more enthusiastically.

"Yuck, farm dirt." An unfortunate Blaise grimaced as he slowly chewed on his own bean.

"Whatever this is, it's gross." Theo grumbled while holding out his half-eaten yellow bean.

"Two sickles it must be the rotten egg." They looked up to the towering figure of Ron, walking in with Pansy by his side. He was carrying as much shopping bags as Harry's, only worst. Draco and Hermione appeared no second later, trailing after the two with an exasperated look. The boys began exchanging bets over the matter while Hermione trudged towards an amused Ginny.

"You won't believe what Malfoy asked me to wear to the ball." Hermione told begrudgingly.

Ginny's amused look instantly morphed into a deep scowl. "You should see the Muggle cop costume that Blaise wants me to wear. It comes with a set of bloody handcuffs!" She shuddered at the thought. "Never mind that for now. Did you get my message?"

"Your _little_ horsey galloped in right into the middle of the store, and scared people out of their wits that they went running out of there. Sure, I did get your message." Hermione said sarcastically.

"My Patronus is not as bad as your fiancé's." Ginny snorted. "His is like seven feets long."

Hermione decided better than to argue with the witch, and just shrugged in response. Meanwhile, Pansy took a seat nearby, and stared with mock polite interest. "So? What is it? What's the, let me quote your words, biggest plot twist ever in wizarding history?"

"Oh, nothing new." Ginny replied, voice thick with dripping sarcasm. "Just our bunch of old friends trying to take over the wizarding world all over again, and Zabini is kind of losing his head over it." She flipped her red hair from her face. "Did I mentioned that little scene of our Mister Crabbe and Miss Bulstrode meeting up with them in the Hog's Head just now?"

"What?" The witches said almost in unison, which instantly attracted the attention of the rest in the room.

"What did we miss?" Harry asked as he inched closer in alarm, instinctively wrapping his arm around Astoria's waist. She immediately helped to relay the surprising news, in which brought a frown on his face.

"What exactly are they talking about?"

Blaise quickly chimed in, relaying everything that they heard in the dingy pub. Harry's frown deepened with a thoughtful look when Blaise concluded his words.

"Book.." Harry muttered absently. "What book?"

"Exactly!"

"We know the girl must be that Patil twin." Draco supplied hesitantly. "But, the book.." He trailed off with a frown.

Hermione furrowed her brows. "They are not desperate to find the Seer, but a book."

"And Crabbe reckons it's not in the castle." Ginny confirmed. "They will keep on looking, no doubt, but mainly to humour the guy I supposed. You can almost see the exasperation in his voice when he was trying to explain the matter."

"Not to mention, they are pressuring him too much. Crabbe don't do stress well." Blaise snorted. "Ha! Good luck getting the bloke to finish the task."

Ginny gave a pointed glare. "Yet you almost lost your head just now." Then, she turned back to the rest. "If the book is really in the castle, it must be well-hidden so I won't dwell too much if I were you."

"But, what does Professor Rosier has to do with this?" Ron asked rhetorically. He tapped his finger against his chin with a deep, thoughtful look. Then, he suddenly snapped his finger. "Perhaps he is a part of them!"

"Ron-"

"Think about it!" He urged. "He went out in the middle of a class a few days ago, and we found Crabbe and Bulstrode duelling each other in the corridor later." His eyes widened in realisation. "Blimey, what if that's it?"

"What?" Harry inquired cautiously.

"What if they are in this together? What if Crabbe and Bulstrode were actually distracting us with the whole duelling act while Professor Rosier went to find the whatever it is book? He can easily search wherever he wanted with Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape focused on the two, while most of the other teachers were in class!" Ron's blue eyes twinkled with excitement. "It all totally make sense!" He insisted.

"I don't know.." Pansy voiced out hesitantly. "It does kind of make sense, but we don't have any proof."

Ron wagged a finger at the witch. "Not necessarily. We can just keep an eye on him, and find one."

"Brilliant." said Blaise before turning to look at Harry. "Can we take turns wearing Potter's invisibility cloak then? I've been dying to try it ever since I heard Draco whining for one to his dear mother."

Draco instantly frowned in disapproval. "I never did such thing!"

"Sure, you don't, mate." Blaise said offhandedly, and that actually fuelled Draco's annoyance even more. "So, may I?"

"Are you a wizard or not, Zabini?" Astoria rolled her eyes. "Or, are you actually that thick for one simple Disillusionment Charm?"

Blaise immediately straightened his back, and crossed his arms with a loud huff.

"That charm ain't anything close to simple!"

"Agreed." Ron muttered quietly in agreement, in which earned him a slap on the back from Ginny.

"Don't encourage the bloke!" Ginny glared. "Anyway, that won't be necessary. Nobody is using anything to become invisible here." She gave a stern glare as Blaise attempted to open his mouth to interrupt. "Look, stalking him all around with close to non-existence proof will prove nothing. We will just have to wait, and stay alert. If he ever attempts anything, we'll be there to stop him, but if not, nothing."

"Ginny is right." Hermione quipped. "It's definitely pointless, and quite reckless. If we ever get caught, especially by Professor Snape.." She trailed off, but everyone got the message. It won't be the world's most pleasant experience, and there might even the high chance of turning quite nasty. "Besides, we have our N.E.W.T exams to worry about, and the err.. Marriage Law, remember? Wedding date, and all." Even Hermione grimaced at the thought.

The lot of them instantly groaned in unison.

"Oh, bloody hell, Granger!"

"Great job, Granger. You just _have_ to bring that up!"

"I was already doing great on my amnesia act for that!"

Yeah, definitely not such a brilliant idea to bring that up in front of a horde of anti-Ministry students.

"Oops."

~~X~~

Draco blew out the falling hair obscuring his vision, and let out a loud huff. He restlessly shifted his weight onto his left leg, and crossed his arms before repeating the act all over again. When he grew tired of it, he returned his attention to the brunette sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding a stack of thick books in her lap while searching for more from the lowest shelf of the book rack next to her right side.

"What are you even looking for?" He finally broke the silence, raising one brow. It had been a little over twenty minutes since the other suddenly dragged him to the library the moment they returned to the castle, and she hasn't spoken once after assuming that position. He wasn't even sure she was aware of the fact that she had dragged him along.

She didn't reply at once. "The book that the Death Eaters are looking for. I have a feeling that there's a clue somewhere around here." She mumbled after a moment of silence, heaving a deep sigh as she removed her hair from her face. She shifted slightly to adjust the stack of books on her lap.

Draco sniggered. "Typical Granger. Running to the library when in need of answers. What are you, the library spirit or something?"

She just stuck her tongue out in response before returning her attention to her most favourite things in the world. That's right, books. But, Draco couldn't care less at the moment. He was more disturbed with the weird drumming in his body, which the blame could only be pinned on his rapidly beating heartbeat. He tried to distract himself by focusing on the Gryffindor witch. Surely, nothing could get worse by doing so, right? Wrong. As he observed the witch closely, he began to notice how her warm brown eyes twinkled as she got sidetracked while reading some random book, how her hands gently handled the book as if it was the most precious thing in the world, how her hair occasionally escaped from behind her ear, framing her small face..

"Bloody hell," Draco cursed under his breath, and averted his eyes. "I must have gone off my rocker."

He shook his head a few times just to make sure he snapped out of it before taking in a long, deep breath. Then, he cleared his throat, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Granger.." He called out. Hermione looked up with a raised brow. "About the wedding date-"

Hermione quickly blanched as if she was suddenly reminded of something when Draco mentioned the topic, but her expression also slowly slipped into an almost resigned one as she exhaled feebly.

"Oh, yes." A bitter smile appeared on her face while she nodded solemnly. "I guess it's only fair to let you decide, isn't it? I meant, it's your wedding."

Draco's brows instantly knitted together. "Wow, I'm not aware I'm going to marry the air." said Draco sarcastically with a loud huff. "It's _our_ wedding, Granger."

Hermione's face flushed in embarrassment, but she lowered her head, and slowly shook her head.

"I meant, it's a wizarding wedding, and a Malfoy's one on top of that." She looked hesitant as she spoke, glancing around nervously to avoid his intense gaze. "..I'm kind of under the impression that it will be a fancy occasion, and no.. Muggle will be allowed to be there, but my parents are Muggle so yeah.." Her voice grew smaller with every word. "Surely, your parents won't want intruders on your big day. Besides, I imagine they will want to go all out for their only son's wedding, and that will take a lot of time to organize so naturally, you should discuss the date with your parents instead to make sure they have enough time for everything, and.." She instantly faltered under the stern glare from Draco.

She gulped as he took a few steps forward, inching closer ever so slowly as if to accentuate the murderous glint in his eyes. He promptly lowered himself before her so they were at eye-level, and his steely grey eyes bored into her brown one. She blinked once, twice while Draco squinted his eyes with gritted teeth.

"In case you forgot, Granger, my father was a notorious Death Eaters, and he was once imprisoned in Azkaban." He spat in a low hiss at last. "Do you really think he dares to act all mighty ever again?"

"Well, but still-"

"Yes, I'm a Malfoy, but let's not forget that my name hardly brings any impact nowadays. I'm not Potter, Granger." Draco let out a weary sigh before sliding against the shelves next to Hermione. "It will be a fancy occasion, oh no doubt of that. Curse my mother and her blasted fondness for lavishness, but to actually prevent your parents from coming to the wedding? That's just barbaric, Granger, even for my father to do. He recognizes a life debt when he sees one, and believe me that you testifying for him is more than enough to make him recoil in shame."

Draco glanced at her, and Hermione realised with a start there were dark shadows under his eyes as if he hardly sleep at night. His pale skin actually made it worse, almost closely resembling a walking dead. As if in a deep trance, Hermione couldn't resist the temptation, and she absently reached out to touch his face. He raised a quizzical brow as she placed her hand against his cheek before catching her hand in one swift movement, holding it up in midair.

"Save it for later, Granger," He smirked, and the dark shadows under his eyes disappeared for one fleeting moment. "My point is, the wedding is as much yours as it's mine, so we're going to do this together. I will marry my beautiful self if I can, but the mental Ministry obviously ruined everything just like whoever created the bloody flying chicken."

Hermione instantly burst into a fit of hysterical laughing. "You're still scared of Buckbeak!"

"Anybody will react in the exact same fashion when you have a flying chicken running after your hand." Draco grumbled.

"Merlin's pants, this - is - too- funny!"

"Don't make me hex you into next week, Granger."

"Too funny - Can't breath!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Can we focus on the matter at hands, pretty please?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, sure." Hermione's laughter subsided dramatically, but there was still a hint of mirth in her watery eyes. "So, together, right. Right." She dragged out the word right in a clear, mocking manner.

"I'm serious, Granger." Draco countered with a serious look. "Just tell me what to do. We're going to choose the date, the wedding details, the guest list, and all of that by ourselves. Well, maybe a slight interference from my mother since she will go nuts if I ever exclude her from anything, but you have my words that nobody gets to do anything that goes against your will without your permission. I'm not yet fully thrilled with all of this either, but like I told you before, we _have_ to make it work."

Hermione made a face, partly still unconvinced. It didn't go unnoticed by Draco, and he instantly let out another weary sigh.

"Okay, here's a deal." Draco suggested all of a sudden, straightening his back. "How about if I spend the Christmas break at your house? I'll prove it to you that I'm long past the blasted pure-blood supremacy now, and I'm really trying hard to make this work without any ulterior motive here."

Hermione widened her eyes in disbelief, unable to quite believe her ears. Did Draco Malfoy seriously just offer to actually spend the Christmas break at her house, surrounded by her Muggle parents, and neighbours? Like, really doing that with that rare sincere gleam in his eyes, and no sign of sneering at all. (Had Hell somehow froze over the last few hours, and nobody bothered to tell her anything?)

"W-What?" Hermione stammered at last, blinking rapidly.

Draco promptly rolled his eyes. "You heard me the first time. I'm not repeating that all over again."

"You're really - Like really - At _my_ house?"

Hermione let out a surprised yelp.

"Yes, yes, Granger." Draco waved his hands dismissively, trying to keep up his cool. He was not going to let it show that he was actually slightly offended with her doubt, but also nervous at the same time at the mere thought of actually keeping his promise. (Seriously, he was quite convinced someone had tinkered with his mind. Or, at least he _hoped_ so.)

"Are you really, _really_ sure about this?" Hermione prompted, eyes still widened in stunned disbelief. "No regret? No backing out of your words?"

In all honesty, Draco wanted to shout out a flat no. He was absolutely unsure of it. He was totally tinkered in the mind. Merlin, he was not even sure he really had the courage to do it. But, he's a Malfoy, and they always keep their promises so he eventually nodded firmly.

Silence. Hermione kept on staring at him, speechless.

"Let's get out of here first." Hermione finally murmured while averting her eyes away. She quickly placed the books back into its original place, and took a few that she deemed worthy of her attention. Draco said nothing in return, but nodded in acknowledgement. He knew she needed some time to think over it, and he fully intended on giving her that privilege. It was definitely not easy to invite your arch enemy for years to your house, much less bringing him to meet her parents. For all that she knew, he might end up of hexing her parents to oblivion on first sight.

"Give me that." Draco quickly snatched the books as he watched her struggling under the weight of the heavy books, not giving her the chance to argue. His face remained expressionless as he adjusted the pile of books in his arms before he marched away ahead of her, determined to give her the space that she needed.

If Hermione noticed this, she didn't say a thing. She quietly trudged after him instead, lowering her gaze with a deep thoughtful look. The hallway was pretty much deserted at the time, save for several floating ghosts.

"Malfoy?" She finally called out after a moment of silence. Draco came to an instant halt, but didn't turn around to face her. Hermione was the one who approached him instead, albeit a tad bit hesitant, but she quickly composed herself. She went straight to stand before him, holding his gaze with a determined look. "Alright."

Draco quirked his brows. "What?"

"Alright, I'll let you stay-"

"Does anyone see Arnold?" Ginny suddenly appeared next to them, grinning at them a little bit too brightly. They furrowed their brows unison, equally confused. "No? Oh, what a shame. I shall probably ask Professor Snape." Then, she made a weird attempt at doing curtsy, twirling like a ballerina before skipping away while humming to Odo the Hero song.

"What-"

"Draco, mate!" came a sorely dishevelled Blaise with one of his shoe missing from his foot. He was flailing around while glancing all around wildly in search of something unknown. He quickly grabbed Draco's shoulders, and began shaking it violently. "Did you see that redhead witch? Did you see her? Tell me you did, mate! Tell me you did!" There was a slight hysterical edge in his voice.

"Who, your fiancée?" Draco winced as he struggled to swat Blaise's hands away from gripping his shoulder with his iron grip. "She just went that way-"

"Lead the way, mate!"

"What? No-"

But, Blaise was already tugging on his arms, pulling him in the direction of the opposite hallway. The latter was muttering about a Confundus Charm gone wrong, his confused fiancée searching for her pygmy puff, (Wait, the fierce Gryfindor witch has a fluffy _pygmy puff_ named Arnold as a pet?) and he was pretty much on the verge of losing his head in case someone found out. However, Draco managed to resist him just for a little while, and looked over his shoulder.

"Hey, Granger?" The stunned witch tilted her head to the side as if challenging him to speak out. "You got yourself a deal." With a wink, he was off as he was dragged away by the frantic Italian wizard.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 : Sunday Morning**

The next morning, Draco was off with a frustrating start. His high hope for a peaceful Sunday morning was instantly ruined when he was rudely interrupted in his sleep by the loud banging on his door. He sighed with exasperation as he dragged himself to open the door before Blaise came bursting into the room. The Italian wizard was screaming on top of his voice while flailing around wildly, constantly looking over his shoulder as if he was currently hunted by a resurrected Voldemort himself. (Okay, Draco _really_ shouldn't had said that for things simply might come true when you said it even literally. Call it magic, it's the wizarding world after all.)

"Bloody hell, do you even know woman is bloody scary when they're mad out of their mind?" Blaise gave a great shudder as he casually sauntered towards the only bed in the room. "I just figured that out now."

With a loud groan, Draco slammed the door shut behind him. He marched towards the unsuspecting bloke before promptly shoving him away, and plopping himself onto the comfortable bed. He laid with his face buried deeply into the pillow, hoping to drown out the other's voice.

Naturally, Blaise won't let that happen. He prodded the blonde harshly from the side. "Wake up, mate. Is this how you treat your best mate because I'm honestly feeling so offended right now, you ungrateful lump of coal. I still have a huge eyebags on my precious face because of the sleepless nights you caused me for the sake of your complex love life."

Draco's reply was muffled by the pillow. Blaise rolled his eyes before pulling the pillow away in one, swift movement. Draco begrudgingly sat up afterwards, reaching out his hand to ruffle his hair with annoyance.

"I should've let Weaslette rammed your bloody head against the wall last night." grumbled Draco moodily. Well, nobody could really blame him either. Even someone as nice as Neville would exploded when you wake them up on a Sunday morning before the approriate time.

Blaise narrowed his eyes in dismay, but said nothing. He stood up, and began rummaging through Draco's trunk instead. He pulled out a random robe from the latter's massive collection before tossing it square in his face.

"Get ready, mate." said Blaise while turning back towards the trunk. He began pulling out more random robes, eyes twinkling with delight. "Oh, this is a new one. Why, the color is just perfect for my eyes!"

"Hands off my robes, you wanker." Draco retorted while changing out of his pajamas. He purposely flung the used garment towards the esctatic Blaise, halting the lad momentarily. "The last time you touched it, I had to buy a whole new wardrobe." He finished putting on his robes, trudging towards the bed to whisk his wand from under the pillow, and cramming it into the sleeve of his robes.

Blaise just waved his hands around dismissively for his eyes just caught yet another prey amidst the sea of colorful robes.

"What's taking you so long?" came Theo's head suddenly peering from behind the door after flinging the door open with a loud bang.

Draco's eyes widened almost immediately. "Why are you here too?"

Theo quickly gestured towards the immersed Blaise on the floor. Draco made a quick mental note to kill the latter in his sleep.

"Can we get going already? Granger is giving me the stink eye." Theo glanced once over his shoulder as he said this, shuddering no second later.

"Is she awake?" asked Draco curiously. He walked out of the room, heading towards the living room. Hermione, who thought it was Theo all over again, didn't drop her stern, and disdainful look until Draco came into full view. She instantly turned scarlet in the face, and hastily fixed her eyes on the book in her lap.

Draco raised an amused brow before chuckling lowly. It was hard not to notice that she had been avoiding him since last night despite her epic failed attempt of being subtle.

"Let's go!" interrupted Blaise, who had an armful of Draco's belongings in his embrace. He skipped towards the door with bouncing steps, ignoring Draco's furrowed brows while Theo trailed after him in a hurry, eager to escape Hermione's scrunitizing eyes. He also pulled Draco along while he was at it.

"Are you even going to inform me where on earth are you taking me?" said Draco with annoyance before looking over his shoulder. "See you later, Granger. Do not miss me too much."

He vaguely heard Hermione muttering 'egoistical, self-centred prat' under her breath. Instead of being offended though, he just grinned as he was being pulled by Theo out of the room. His grin died down when they halted at last, and his first reaction was to glare at the other two.

"You woke me up on a glorious Sunday morning like this just to visit that backstabbing two-faced Crabbe, and his equally traitorous fancée?" He drawled, but Blaise appeared unfazed. He shook his head, and wagged a finger at him with a dramatic look of disappointment.

"Watch."

They began creeping along the hallway, slowly entering the Hospital Wing on tip toes. Draco obviously refused, but the two bashed his head before he even got out a single protest. They kept themselves hidden behind an empty bed near the entrance, and Draco saw that the only occupants of the room was situated way further than the main door.

"What in the name of Merlin's most baggy Y-fronts—"

"Oh, look, look!" Blaise pointed out excitedly. He began edging forward ever so slightly, careful enough not to be caught, but clear enough to see everything. Unable to resist his growing curiosity, Draco mirrored the other's action, and finally saw what's the fuss. He finally understood, though not quite fully or accurately, what exactly they were trying to do. On contrary belief, they didn't even give as much as a glance in Crabbe or Millicent's direction, whose fortunately placed next to each other and adjacent to the remaining occupants of the room. That way, they were spared from the irresistible urge of tearing the bloody traitor's heads off at first sight.

"Oh, lovely." said Draco, voice thick with dripping sarcasm. "What a marvelous sight!" He began clapping his hands, maybe unintentionally or maybe not, trying to attract attention on them. He promptly rose to his feets, and made a move to trudge forward.

"Draco!" Blaise hissed, frantically motioning him to stay down. "Mate, stay low! I repeat, stay - low!" The Italian wizard made a huge show of warning the blonde, waving his arms in the air with his voice gradually growing louder when his patience was growing thin. ("This bonehead might as well announce our presence on top of his voice." muttered Theo.)

"Oh, you're here."

"Oh, great." Theo gave up almost immediately. He quickly stood up, and dusted his robes, wise enough to keep a nonchalant look plastered across his face. "Get up, mate. You're making a fool out of yourself."

"Hush, Theo!" Blaise placed a finger on his mouth. "They might hear you!"

Theo rolled his eyes, and left to join Draco, whose already sneering next to a flushed Goyle. Padma was perched on the edge of the bed next to Goyle's legs, pretending to smooth the bed-covers unnecessarily.

"I hate to admit it, but this is kind of worth ditching my sleep." Draco mused with a mildly impressed look.

Right on cue, Blaise shot up from his spot, and rushed to them with an eager look. His right hand was raised high in the air while the other kept on pointing at himself. "It was my brilliant idea, mate! Aren't you just thankful to me?"

"No." said Draco flatly.

Blaise instantly huffed, and frowned. He crossed his arms defiantly, standing a good five metres from Draco. ("Stupid, self-centred, raging prick." Blaise murmured under his breath.)

"So," Draco shared a brief, cynical look with Theo. "You guys are like a thing now? Like, together together? Is that so, Patil?" He raised an amused brow at the dark-haired witch. The sight of the Ravenclaw witch feeding Goyle like a dutiful fiancée just now definitely intrigued him. Needless to say, the look of fondness decorating Goyle's face as of even right now, was just itching for some explanation.

Padma scowled. "It's none of your business, Malfoy." She flipped her long hair from her face before standing up abruptly. "I'll leave you guys for some time alone now. I'll be back later, Greg." She gave one last smile at the grinning bloke before hurrying towards the exit door.

"Oh, she's feisty." Draco clasped Goyle's shoulders, and patted it with mocked sympathy. "You get yourself a tough one, Goyle. Not sure which one of us is even the most unlucky."

"Oi, that would be me!" Blaise shrieked with a look of are-you-freaking-kidding-me. "Fight me if you say otherwise, mate."

Theo snorted in response. "As if you can fool us, Blaise." He pulled a nearby chair, and sat down. He grabbed one of the fruits in the basket brought by Padma earlier this morning, and began munching on the juicy treat.

"Preach."

"Oh, shut it, Draco. As if you're any better."

That shut him right up, but Theo was obviously bombarded with murderous glares from the two afterwards.

"How's it really going for you, Goyle?" Ignoring them, Theo chose to regard the still grinning Goyle. He had a dreamy look on his face, and Theo had to snap his fingers in front of him before he was snapped into reality.

"Good." The lad beamed while grinning brightly. "Padma is such a wonderful person. She takes care of everything for me that Madam Pomfrey had long gave up on trying to help."

"That's.. nice," Theo replied hesitantly. ".. I suppose."

Goyle eagerly nodded in agreement. "How about you? Luna Lovegood, right? Is she treating you right?"

Draco and Blaise perked up at the question. They dropped the murderous glare in an instant, eyeing Theo with eyes twinkling with interest. Theo grew uncomfortable with the sudden turn of the event. He cleared his throat a few times while tossing an apple into the air instead of eating it now.

"Oh, do tell, mate." urged Blaise with a malicious grin. He leaned forward from where he had taken a seat before while clasping his hands together in front of him, and resting his chin on top of it.

"I'm sure she is just as lovely as Goyle's fiancée here. The most wonderful girl in the world, isn't she?" Draco added, a sly grin tugging the corner of his lips.

"The thing is," began Theo, which made them sat at the edge of their chair by now. ".. she actually really is."

Draco and Blaise exchanged a quick, confused look. "Is what?" They questioned in unison.

Theo gave an uncomfortable, pained look as if reluctant to say further. "She really is a wonderful girl." He finally murmured lowly, looking down at his lap. "I say, Potter has the right idea when he was being overprotective over her. She is much too naive, and truthful for her own good."

"Say what now?"

"She confronted me last night." Theo didn't stop even as Draco's and Blaise's face turned from malicious into panic. "She let me know that she is well aware of me being unhappy with our pairing. We may never expect it, but she has an absolutely keen sense which she used to keep an eyes on people around her. She said she's sorry. She apologised for something she never did wrong, and I-I just stood there, looking stunned like a stupid dummy."

Draco gulped, and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. (Is it just him or the temperature really dropped all of a sudden?)

"Theo, I'm sure she understands." Goyle assured hesitantly.

"You should've seen the dejected look on her face last night." Theo let out a heavy sigh. "It was as if— as if I just finished a two-hours lecture of convincing her that Crumple-Horned Snorkack really doesn't exist, and she gave up on trying to argue with me."

"That's such a bizarre expression." Blaise whispered with a judging look. "That Loony Lovegood girl is definitely rubbing off on him pretty badly."

Draco regarded Blaise with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey, maybe—"

"Mister Crabbe! What are you doing out of bed?" All of them whipped their heads around in surprise at the sudden, booming voice of the school's matron. She was standing before the main entrance, both hands on her hips with a fierce look on her face. Despite being slightly taller that the matron, Crabbe had his head hung low in shame, making him looked slightly smaller than usual.

A much less conspicuous Millicent Bulstrode was seated on a bed near them. It still struck as a strange view though once you recovered from the shock, and noticed that she ought to be in her own bed, which was placed a lot more farther than the main entrance. The Slytherins didn't linger for long though. As soon as they recognised the source of the noise, they averted their attention away with annoyed look.

"Serve them right." Blaise mumbled as the loud nagging of Madam Pomfrey carried all the way to their side of the Hospital Wing.

However, Goyle had a thoughtful look on his face with deeply furrowed brows. He tapped his finger against his chin a few times. "I swear this must be what, the umpteenth times, that he tried to sneak out of here." He commented out loud, but just loud enough for the other three to hear.

"Hold on a second," Blaise's ears perked up at the revelation. "What did you just said?"

Goyle quirked his brows. "What? Crabbe sneaking out of here? He's been doing it a lot actually, especially at night whenever he thinks I'm fast asleep. Millicent would usually keep watch of me while Crabbe's off to do whatever the hell he has to do."

"At night?" The three of them exchanged a knowing look with each other.

Goyle nodded in confirmation while shifting his position slightly. "I don't know what exactly are they up to because they are pretty secretive about it. Crabbe rarely talks to me anymore, and they're always constantly in a deep discussion with each other. I thought they were getting along at first, but a few days here is enough to prove me wrong, and give me a splitting headache from their endless bickerings."

"Do you happen to see anybody coming in to visit them ever since they got admitted here?" ventured Draco out of curiosity. There was this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that the answer would indeed served as a clue for them.

"Of course. There's not much of them to begin with so it's pretty easy to keep track." Goyle frowned in concentration. "I only remember seeing Professor Snape, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall on the first day we got admitted here. From the look of it, pretty sure they have detentions already waiting once they're out of here. Oh wait, Professor Rosier also came two days ago."

Theo instantly had an amused look on his face. "That lunatic soon-to-be brother-in-law of yours was not exactly blabbering gibberish then." He nudged Blaise slightly, raising a mocking brow. Blaise scowled, and playfully aimed to punch the other.

"What?" Goyle asked with a confused look.

Draco quickly waved his hands dismissively while sending a warning look at the other two.

"It's nothing." Draco abruptly stood up while gesturing at the other. "We should get going. I haven't even eat my breakfast."

Soon, they were off after much protesting, and grumbling. Goyle was left all alone on his bed, staring at Madam Pomfrey ushering Crabbe back to his bed with great fuss. Then, he suddenly heaved a heavy sigh while removing his eyes to stare into the distance.

~~X~~

"Ginevra, Ginevra! Open the bloody door, woman!" Ginny narrowed her eyes at the door, annoyed with the constant loud banging. "Or so help me, I'm going to blast this blasted door open, and send—"

"Send what?" Ginny snapped as she slammed the door open. " _What_?"

Blaise gulped while his mind went racing at an incredible speed. In this kind of situation, there was obviously just one solution left to do for him. He abruptly carved an awkward smile while waving his hand around.

"Morning?"

"It's nearly afternoon, you brainless turnip."

"That's not important, cupcake. The important thing is— wait," Blaise halted, and raised a finger. ".. why turnip? Why not carrot or cabbage or something much, much more classy? It has to fit my elegant, and sophisticated image, love."

Ginny scowled. "Why, my apologise, your royal Highness. I was not aware that cabbage is the epitome of classy."

"Apology accepted." Blaise strutted to the couch, failing to recall his initial reason of leaving the chamber this morning. How he forgot the Gryffindor witch's wrath that forced him to end up of running down the hall at ungodly hours this morning, it will always remain as a mystery. "Come, come." He patted the empty space next to him. "Don't be shy, love. I have such a suprising news to share that you might as well sit while you can before you unceremoniously faint on the floor."

Ginny raised her brows sceptically. She crossed her arms while she slowly trudged forward towards him. It was a wonder to her why he hasn't took flight yet at the sight of her. He couldn't possibly expected for her to forgive him that easily already after just a slight preview of her wrath. Unbeknownst to her, the lad was simply born with the memory span of a goldfish.

"Here." He patted the seat again, eagerly looking up at her with twinkling eyes. Once she was seated, he cleared his throat, and straightened up his clothes a bit. "You see, that lunatic brother of yours is not that daft after all." He smiled with triumph, expecting her to burst into a string of incoherent thankful words.

However, she snorted derisively in response. "So?"

Blaise's face fell, and his smile vanished into thin air. He blinked a few times, unable to comprehend the lack of response from the red-headed witch.

"What do you mean by that?" shrieked Blaise at last, standing up instinctively. He unconsciously flailed his arms around, trying to form a coherent word. "Aren't you suppose to be super-duper protective, and defensive of your brothers? I thought that's a Weasley's thing!"

Ginny let out an amused, short chuckle. "Not necessarily, _darling_." She leaned back against the couch with crossed legs. "I'm a Gryffindor, not a bloody Hufflepuff. Why do you care anyway?"

Blaise began stuttering out his reply, his words coming out all jumbled up while Ginny stared hard at him. She prompted even further by quirking her brows as she folded her arms across her chest.

"That's beside the point!" He snapped as he hastily regained his composure. He straightened up, and puffed his chest out. "You shall be honor that I even took notice of people frowning at your brother's ridiculous conclusions yesterday, but it turned out that he's quite right all along, and I'm going to great lengths to inform you about it. I'm not usually bother with other people's business, you know!"

"I highly doubt that last part."

"Now, why would you?"

"Just because."

Blaise groaned with frustration. He began ranting out under his breath, firing words in his mother tongue at incredible speed. Meanwhile, Ginny watched with a mix of amusement, and something indescribable in her eyes. She took a mental note on how he had a habit of pacing around when he's in great distress, much like what he was doing right now.

She lowered her gaze, and sniggered to herself. "You would've think I will fall for someone much more better than this." The murmuring was really meant to be a self-pity talk towards herself, but the sudden silence quickly triggered her attention. She gulped as she became aware of the lack of Italian curses flying around the room now, but she was dreadfully hesitant, and reluctant to raise her head.

She took a huge, calming breath before closing her eyes briefly. With a silence prayer, she slowly lifted her head, and opened one eye first. The sight definitely didn't disappoint. Her eyes popped open while she released a sigh, but shrugged coolly afterwards. She cleared her throat, and stood up, inching closer towards the utterly gobsmacked wizard. He was frozen in his spot with hands hanging loosely in the air, jaw literally dropped to the floor with comically widened eyes.

"You heard it?" asked Ginny reluctantly. Despite the thin hope, she was still pretty hopeful.

Blaise blinked profusely.

"You really did." Ginny concluded, almost accusingly. She made a face, and looked up with despair. "Yes, yes, I'll admit it. I have feelings for you, not that much yet I think, but it's there. Don't even ask me since when because I don't even know myself. There's even a high chance it's just the Confundus charm still messing with my head, really—"

"You actually.. fancy me?" Blaise cut off after a long silence. He was staring at her with a mix of disbelief, and shock. There was also a slight faraway look on his face. "You - me - _us_?"

Ginny promptly narrowed her eyes. "You know what, never mind." She huffed loudly. "Now, I'm 100% sure it's just the charm still messing with my head." Blaise was plainly oblivious, but the long silence combined with the disbelief edge to his tone, and the faraway look definitely had a bad effect as a response in this situation. (The Gryffindor witch definitely saw the faraway look as a sign of amusement.) Ginny hurried to the door with large steps, determined not to look back. Ginny Weasley wasn't your average martyr after all—she didn't need audience to her pain.

Blaise was left to stand all alone in the middle of the chamber, rewinding the scene all over again with great confusion. He eventually slumped into the couch while staring at nothing in particular. He scratched his head a few times, and tried to reason her abrupt leave. He finally came up with the conclusion that she was just simply off to attend some matters.

"Yeah, that must be it."

Oh Merlin, if only he knew how wrong he was.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 : Late Night Adventure**

"Look at that," Came a voice from behind him, miserably failing to be discreet. "It's been what, two days?"

"Yeah. Quite a nasty sight to face everyday, don't you think?"

"I can hear you both, you know!" Blaise finally snapped with a scowl. He begrudgingly turned around, coming face to face with Draco and Theo. The two had a matching crooked grin etched onto their face as Draco raised his brows challengingly.

"What?" Theo asked, mocking laughter threatening to spill.

Blaise narrowed his eyes with an accusing glare. "You two, that's what!"

Draco shrugged while pretending to inspect his dragon-hide gloves. "I'm not the one with a sudden newfound interest of creeping on Weaslette." He looked up, and shot a mocking smirk towards Blaise.

The tall Slytherin glared in response, and grumbled inaudibly under his breath. But, that was certainly far from being able to surpress the hint of red rapidly spreading across his cheeks, which he quickly hid by looking away once he noticed the heat flaring up around the area. The sight didn't went unnoticed by Draco, and his smirk instantly morphed into an amused smile.

After all of this years knowing his best mate, he certainly didn't expect for the Weasley girl-out of all the girls in the whole wizarding world-as the one who will manage the impossible. Despite her fiery attitude, and undisputed qualifications of a girl worthy of Blaise's attention, Blaise Zabini turning scarlet for a girl was nearly unheard of. The sheer idea of him actually devoting his attention solely on _one_ particular witch was pretty startling no matter how you looked at it.

It was no wonder it came out as a huge surprise for Draco when he witnessed Blaise suddenly began fretting about the Gryffindor witch since two days ago. Whatever happened between the two at the time, it obviously left a long-lasting impact, and bothered Blaise a lot. He always seemed to be deep in thought most of the times, and Draco heard him contemplating whether she was furious at him or it was just something much more simpler than that on a few ocassions. The absurdity of the situation even caused Draco to question his own sanity at one point, and he became quite convinced that someone had sneakily hexed him into oblivion until Theo fully assured him by casting a direct counter-hex to his head several times. In any case, he simply enjoyed mocking, and teasing the poor lad now that he knew there was nothing he could do may prevent what was bound to happen sooner or later. ("He had been holding back for so long. Time to let out the beast, mate!" _Smack_. _Smack_. Yeah, that's what you get when you make an inapproriate comment towards someone with six future brother-in-laws.)

"I'm feeling so harrased right now." Theo said shrilly in what was supposed to be a poor imitation of the red-headed witch. He added a dramatic gesture of covering most of his chest with his hands protectively while attempting the Gryffindor witch's infamous accusing glare to top it all.

"Nice one." Draco nudged Theo with an impressed look. Then, they abruptly broke into raucous laughter, nearly doubling over on the floor.

"I hate you guys."

"We love you too, mate." teased Draco in reply, wiping off his tears due to the heavy mirth.

Theo instantly sneered, and shoved Draco lightly. "Speak for yourself, mate."

"Oh, shut it, Nott." Blaise flipped his non-existent long hair. "You know you want me. _Everybody_ does."

"Not even in your wildest dream, Zabini."

Blaise opened his mouth to retort back, but he was interrupted by the arrival of Professor Sprout. The witch clucked her tongue with disapproval at their unfinished task, and lifted up one of the heavily disfigured plants. Her brows almost shot up to her hairline as she carefully inspected it "Thirty minutes more, children." She shook her head as she placed it down before stalking off in the direction of Seamus wrestling a Snargaluff pod with Dean and a younger Hufflepuff boy.

"I give up!" Blaise announced while letting his potted plant unceremoniously dropped on the tray. "Screw all of this, I'll just Apparate to the Muggle world, and make a living out my talent."

Theo raised a questioning brow. "..which is?"

"Theatricals I reckon." Draco nodded his head a few times while eyeing Blaise up and down as if assessing the latter. "Boy's a drama queen, I'm telling you."

"Seriously, I'm still here, you git."

"Oh, you are?"

"Zabini!" Blaise instinctively froze on the spot. He gulped loudly, not daring to move an inch. He knew the enraged hiss all too well by now since he was obviously the only frequent recipient lately. However, that was not the case with Theo and Draco. They spontaneously whirled all around in search of the owner of the voice until they simultaneously zeroed in on a certain Gyffindor witch with lasers practically shooting out of her eyes as she stormed her way to them. There was a slightly crumpled parchment gripped tightly in her hold.

"Uh-oh." Draco mouthed while giving his most Slytherin-like smirk to Blaise. He turned to Theo, and fished out a couple Galleons from his pocket. "Five Galleons she's out for Blaise's blood."

"Ten Galleons it's his head." Theo replied in a low whisper.

Ginny promptly raised the crumpled parchment as she came into a halt before them. "What is the meaning of this?" She hissed dangerously low, still quite wary of Professor Sprout at the back of the class.

Blaise hesitantly met her eyes, catching only a brief glimpse of the parchment. "I don't know. Is it another letter from the Ministry?"

"No." She slammed the letter against his chest, leaving the poor bloke scrambling to catch the letter. "It's from a woman named María Zabini. I wonder _who_ could that be." The sarcasm was apparent even without the huge leer on her face.

Blaise blanched as he carefully opened the letter. Much to his dismay, it was undoubtedly his one and only mother's writing on the once fresh piece of parchment.

"Umm.. this must be some kind of a mistake. I think it's meant for me.." He trailed off reluctantly, unable to mask the doubt in his eyes.

Ginny lifted one eyebrow in mocked disbelief. "Does it? Does it now, Blaise Antonio Zabini?" She took ahold of his tie in a swift motion, and pulled him forward, leaning closer until her face was merely inches from her fiancé's. "Because I don't think so." She grabbed the letter, and waved it in front of his face. "It clearly says 'Dear Ginevra' here."

"Oh." was all he said in reply.

"I thought we agreed on this. I thought we had a _mutual_ agreement with each other!" She glared at him. "No telling our family about each other until we're _both_ absolutely ready for it."

Blaise gnawed on his lips nervously, his hands reaching around his neck to loosen his emerald-silver tie. The other two students, who had fell silent at the side, watched with full amusement as the scene unfolded. They shared a brief look with each other, sniggering in unison.

"Do you have any idea how much my own family is pestering me about my fiancé a.k.a. your bloody insufferable self?" Ginny questioned rhetorically through her gritted teeth. "I have owls flooding me every single day at breakfast since the day the blasted Marriage Law was announced. I'm surprised I'm yet to find at least a dozen Howlers from my mother delivered along. She ought to explode already considering how _all_ of her children insisted on the confidentiality clause, but it's really just a matter of time. Really, anyday from now I expect, and yet you simply decided it's suddenly alright to go ahead and tell your mother about me?"

Ginny deliberately stepped forward towards Blaise while the latter instinctively staggered backwards with a troubled expression.

Draco snorted at the sight. "I reckon he has five seconds before Weaslette go ape on him. Shall we scoot a little farther?"

Theo chuckled, but naturally took a few steps away from the couple.

"Ten galleons Mrs. Zabini is requesting a formal meeting with Weaslette," He glanced once at Theo with a knowing look. "—thus, all the fuss."

"Ah, the standard procedure." Theo mused, his amusement quickly returning to him as his fellow housemate cowered under the murderous glare of his fiancée. "D'you reckon she has heard of it or this is just her being a melodramatic Gryffindor?"

"Definitely the latter." Draco confirmed with a curt nod.

Theo tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully. "Then, I wonder why they insist on doing this."

"What?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Despite that, his brows were knitted closely together. "It just so happened that Lovegood refused to confide in her father regarding me too. Not that I wasn't thankful or anything because I'm obviously in no way ready to take this quite _that_ seriously just yet, but it does sparks some curiosity in you, don't you think?" He bashfully rubbed his nape afterwards.

"Tell me about it." Cue for an immediate eye-roll. "My goody two-shoes of a Gryffindor fiancée absolutely rejected the idea of owling her parents about this whole Marriage Law rubbish so she's going to wait until Christmas break to personally deliver the _wonderful_ news to her parents." Draco couldn't help the frown emerging between his brows. "As if telling it in person will improve how royally screwed up the whole thing is in the first place, but alas, this is Granger we're talking about so go figure."

"I take it as the rumor of you planning to spend the Christmas break at the Grangers' is true then?" Theo's jaw literally dropped to the floor when the other was silence in response. "Sweet Salazar, it's true! What will your father even say when he heard about this, mate?"

"Actually—"

All of a sudden, several students appeared in front of them, gathering closely together with their backs to the two just as a loud panicked shriek can be heard in the background, completely drowning out the other's whispered conversations. Another sound closely resembling a choked scream, and a pained whimper emerged no second later while Theo and Draco widened their eyes in unison at the familiar voice. Their gaze locked on each other.

"Blaise!"

They instantly barreled against the horde of students before them, which had accumulated during the seconds they stood in confusion just now. "Out of the way, you lot!"

"Blimey," Draco gasped once they got to the centre of attention. "What in the name of Merlin happened here?" He took in the sight of Blaise struggling futilely against the mobile vines tightly secured around his body while his fiancée stood frozen a few metres away, watching with a horrified, and almost stunned look. Professor Sprout was nowhere to be seen, possibly still trying to keep the Snargaluff pod from snapping the clumsy Irish wizard into two.

"I.. I don't know." Ginny stammered, gripping on her wand tightly. It appeared that she had tried to hex the plant off Blaise, only to no avail due to her terribly shaking hands. "One moment we were talking, and he kept on distancing himself from me, then the next moment that wretched plant just suddenly appeared from behind him, and it just began entertwining itself around him."

"That's a Venomous Tentacula." Theo observed before gawking in surprise at the realisation.

"I know. I've tried the Severing Charm, but—"

"Woah!" Draco exclaimed in surprise as Ginny's legs finally gave in under the pressure, managing to capture her just before she collapsed on the floor because of his fast reflexes from years of playing Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

Ginny cursed under her breath, and hastily attempted to stand on her feets again only to end up of swaying dangerously before hanging onto Draco for her dear life. "Thanks." She mumbled rather embarassedly, still gripping on his arms to steady herself.

"He's turning blue." Theo interrupted in panic, pointing his wand at the weakening Slytherin. " _Diffin_ —Darn, I can't do it! It'll hit him for sure." Then, he surprised them all by doing the bravest, but also the stupidest thing he had ever done yet. He ditched his wand on the floor, and went ahead trying to peel the vines off Blaise. (Well, nobody exactly mentioned he's the brightest crayon in the box.)

"Theo, what are you doing?" said Draco with a loud hiss. Ginny was still using him as a steadying pole rendering him immobile, but he was certainly not going to stand back like a bloody _good_ pole, and watched his two best mates turning into a plant. He glanced over his shoulder, scanning the crowd of students. "What are you lot looking at? Find Professor Sprout!"

Scared witless by the intimidating Head Boy, the younger students quickly dispersed, and scattered all around in search of the said teacher.

"I need to help them. Think you could handle being left on the floor, Weasley?"

Ginny glared. "Of course!" She snapped before letting go of his arms, and allowing herself unceremoniously lowered to the ground. Draco rolled his eyes, but scurried away to Theo's side. The first thing that he did? He slapped the back of Theo's head.

"What on earth—"

"Hush." Draco cautiously aimed his wand towards the vines, careful to avoid targetting anywhere near Blaise. He took a deep, steadying breath before muttering the Severing Charm. " _Diffindo!"_ To his immediate relief, the spell hit the targets with flawless precision, immediately severing the arms wrapped around Blaise. It fell with a loud thud on the floor while they quickly reached out to prevent Blaise from facing the same fate.

Despite his weakened state, Blaise forced his heavy eyelids open, and quickly looked up in search of his fiancée before the impending darkness engulfed him completely. "Ginevra, I'm truly sorry about my mother.. I.. I don't know how to face you, and my mother.. she's the only one I could think of to give me some advices.." He struggled to relay his explanation as he slowly drifted into unconsciousness. It didn't took long for him to pass out in Draco's arms just seconds later, his limbs splayed out limply all over the floor.

"What's going on? What's going on here?" They looked up in unison-except an unconscious Blaise-at the arrival of the loud, booming voice. Professor Sprout had arrived on the scene, followed by Seamus, Dean and several other students. In seconds, she had swept past Ginny on the floor, and crouched over next to Blaise's unconscious body. She gently put a finger on his wrist before nodding a few times.

"Is he.. dead, Professor?" asked Dean hesitantly, looming behind her. He alternated his glances between Blaise and Ginny, questioning in silence.

Professor Sprout threw her head back. "No, but we have to bring him to the Hospital Wing immediately." She stood up, and stepped back slightly to conjure a stretcher. She magically levitated the unconscious Slytherin onto it before ordering Dean and Seamus to escort him all the way to the Hospital Wing. Then, she spun her head all around to observe her surrounding. Her scrunitizing gaze instantly fell on Theo, who was currently inspecting his hand.

"Mister Nott, did you get bitten by the Venomous Tentacula?" She narrowed her eyes before gasping loudly when Theo nodded once in reply. "Blimey, what are you waiting for then? Off you go now, young man! Find Madam Pomfrey this instant, and receive a treatment for your wound. Venomous Tentacula is a highly poisonous plant, and its bite may be fatal if not treated right!"

"You got to be kidding me." muttered Theo under his breath as he hurriedly made his way out of the greenhouse.

"Miss Weasley, are you alright?" Professor Sprout turned to the stunned witch next, mistaking her gobsmacked expression as one of pain.

"No.. I meant yes, I'm fine." She shook her head to snap out of it, and stood up shakily.

Professor Sprout clucked her tongue skeptically, but didn't argue. "Very well then." She nodded once, and went to the front of the class to dismiss the other students before rushing to join the group of students heading to the Hospital Wing. Ginny exhaled a shaky breath, and gripped onto the nearest table tightly once the older witch was nowhere to be seen.

"You don't look alright." Someone mused from behind her. She instantly looked up, only to scowl in distaste. Draco had sauntered over to her, casually raising an amused brow while folding his arms across his chest. "Need some help? I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of being a steadying pole all over again, but hey if our Gryffindor princess needs it, who am I to question my destiny? Blaise is my best mate after all so I'm sure he will approve."

"Your destiny is when I close the gap between us, and slap that smug look off your pale face." Ginny drawled.

Draco feigned a terrified look while placing a hand over his heart. " _Ouch_!"

"Shove off, Malfoy."

"Ladies first, Weaslette."

Ginny glared at him one last time before storming out of the greenhouse. Several fifth year Ravenclaw students, who was lined up outside of the greenhouse immediately gave way to her, smart enough not to mess with the infamous accomplished caster of the Bat-Bogey hex. Draco was left with an amused smile as he watched her disappearing back.

~~X~~

Blaise groaned loudly as he instinctively reached out to hold his head, trying to ease the pounding headache. ("It's most definitely that ruddy plant's fault for preventing blood from reaching my head.") He slowly popped one eye open, and stared absently at the unfamiliar ceiling. It took him a few seconds to recognize his surrounding when he finally opened his eyes, groaning even louder once he recalled what had happened.

"Oh, you're awake!" Madam Pomfrey instantly came into view just seconds after he heard her voice. The school matron was already fully clothed in her nightdress, carrying a tray of food and medicine. "Eat this, and then you can go to sleep after you finish your potion. You should be fine by morning, but we'll see tomorrow. You too, Mister Nott." She said briskly while giving a quick stern glare to her left side before striding away into her office at the end of the ward.

"Hey, look who's finally awake." A voice thick with dripping sarcasm emerged from the bed on Blaise's right side. "Blaise, the sleepyhead." Blaise lazily glanced to his side, finding Theo propped on one elbow on the single bed. There was a giant leer on his face when he caught his eyes.

"What happened?"

Theo rolled his eyes. "Do you really want me to answer that? Because as far as I can remember, you were seized from behind and nearly suffocated to death by a blasted plant, not Obliviated."

"Just humor me, mate." Blaise replied while stealing a pillow from the empty bed on his left side so he was able to stuff his face with it, and let out a muffled scream. "That way I could _hopefully_ forget how unmanly I must've look in Ginevra's eyes. Oh, screw those ruddy plants!"

"Ginevra?" Theo's brows scrunched up together in confusion. "As in your fiancée, Ginny Weasley? _The_ Ginny Weasley?"

"Yeah..?" It came out more as a question than intended as Blaise lifted his brows questioningly, unable to see where the other was going with his question.

Theo's eyes became wide as saucers.

"Sweet Salazar!" He gasped after a moment's silence. "Daphne, Pansy, Astoria, Goyle, Draco, and now even you out of all people? The girls have always been a huge softie in the inside so I'm not entirely surprise when they become smitten with their unlikely partner, and we know Goyle will fall even for a pole if he thinks it can treat him right, but you and Draco?" Theo gestured his hands wildly in the air as if he was trying his hardest to find the right words to express his thought. "It's almost as impossible as expecting the Dark Lord to waltz in here at this very moment, donning a pink tutu for the world to see."

Blaise scrunched up his face, looking revolted. "That will be one hella nasty sight for sure."

"Oi, that's not the important part. I'm feeling like a total prat right about now." Theo frowned. "There I was, declining the bloody insanity that is the Marriage Law while appearing as a total git towards Lovegood just so she can stop being too nice to me already because it is slowly making it harder for me not to break the wall, and all of a sudden the thing to do is start giving in to the law by falling over heels for your partner? Where does that leave me, mate? Where?" Theo grunted under his breath before throwing his hands in the air with despair. "You know what? I'll just go to sleep."

"Oh, come on." protested Blaise almost immediately. "I just wake up, and you want to go to sleep? What, is that supposed to be an ironic joke or something?" He chucked the extra pillow at Theo, which hit him square in the face. Tossing back the pillow with disgruntled expression, Theo let out an exaggerated sigh.

"It's already near midnight, mate." Theo rolled his eyes. "What do you suggest for us to do? Breaking in into Weaslette's room to watch her sleep or something?"

Blaise pursed his lips into a tight line with an annoyed look on his face. "May I suggest for you to jump off the Astronomy Tower?"

Theo abruptly widened his eyes, and gasped. He clasped his hands together while a strange look flickered over his features.

"I have an idea!"

Ten minutes later..

"You have ten seconds before I push you off the North Tower." Blaise deadpanned.

"Oh, come on." Theo looked up hastily. "You were the one preventing me from going to sleep!"

"10.. 9.. 8.."

"Just give me a second. It should be here somewhere."

"7.. 6.. 5.. "

"Maybe here. No, here or is it there?"

"4.. 3.. 2.."

"Wait!" He quickly stood up, and craned his neck all around. "Did you hear that?"

Blaise casted a skeptical eye. He tapped his toe against the floor impatiently while folding his arms across his chest. Theo sighed, and raised his hands in defeat.

"Alright, alright." He returned to his previous position, and began tapping the wall all over again. He was careful not to miss any part of the wall in fear of not finding the right one. However, he was still unable to shake off the feeling of being watched. He occassionally sneaked a glance around, convinced there was someone hiding behind one of the many pillars. Growing tired of waiting, Blaise had also opted to help, albeit begrudgingly.

"Merlin's beard!" Blaise instinctively jumped backward when he felt the wall shaking accompanied by the shallow rumbling sound. His jaw dropped to the floor as the doorway opened before their very own eyes.

Theo reacted almost similarly, though it was slightly marred by his annoyance towards the other. "All you did for the past ten minutes is whining non-stop, and yet you found it in seconds? Bite me!"

"I'm just that awesome, mate." said Blaise nonchalantly as he slowly stepped forward. "Sweet Salazar, what is this place?"

"This is the hidden tunnel near the North Tower that Stori was talking about, remember?" said Theo, squinting around at the dark walls once he joined the latter. He shuddered at the sight of the darkness ahead just as the walls closed behind them.

"Yeah, no." Blaise shrugged before trudging forward, the Wand-Lighting Charm providing him some light. Theo scowled, but set off to trail after him. Their footsteps echoed loudly off the dark walls.

"That must be it!" Theo eagerly pointed at the huge oak door with all four crests of the Hogwarts' houses. " _Alohomora_!" He wasted no time to enter the room, not even bothering to worry about the magically locked door that Astoria had warned beforehand. Blaise followed suit while eyeing his surrounding suspiciously.

"What exactly is this place?"

"The legendary Founders' Tower." Theo replied offhandedly, busy examining the old tomes occupying the endless shelves instead. "I knew right away when Stori told us the other day, and I had been pestering her all day long ever since for details to find this place because the story goes that the founders had built a hidden tower in the castle. According to the legend, it was built in order to hide the founders' most treasured properties. They even said the Ravenclaw lost diadem might still be in here somewhere. But, the most popular mention is Slytherin's old tome. It was said that it contained the secret of all of the magic in the world including some very ancient magic from the Egyptians."

"Oh." was Blaise only reply to him. After all, it had been no secret to him that Theo was highly fascinated with the ancient Egypt due to the countless books and articles flooding their dormitory back in the days.

Blaise chose to walk around the room instead before lingering around one of the many shelves. He reached for a book on the top shelf randomly, examining it for a while before intending to put it back to its rightful place. However, his gaze suddenly landed on the weird carving jutting out slightly from behind the other book. He quickly removed the other book as well as three other more. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the carving as the emblem of the Slytherin house, but with the serpent's tail twisted at a weird angle. He instinctively placed a hand over it, slowly tracing the edge of the tail. He spent a good few minutes staring at it before he was hit with the abrupt realisation that it was meant to be like that in order to become a key to open something.

He gulped loudly, and with hammering heart, he slowly returned the serpent's tail to its rightful place. But, nothing happened. The serpent remained the same except with its tail properly placed now. Blaise let out an exaggerated sigh, which immediately attracted Theo's attention.

"What is it?"

Blaise gestured at the carving, and explained briefly with a hint of annoyance in his tone. (Blaise Zabini was _never_ used to refusal even from a non-living thing. That obviously changed after the arrival of a certain bloody menace of a witch.)

"Hmm.." Theo tapped a finger against his chin, sporting a deep, thoughtful look. Then, he suddenly reached out to the carving, and pressed it gently. Much to their surprise, the serpent responded this time as it parted into two, sliding smoothly out of sight to reveal a small compartment inside. "Blimey, is that what I think it is?" He gasped breathlessly at the sight of a weighty, old tome nestled inside of the compartment.

"If it's Lovegood with just her knickers on, no it's not." said Blaise sarcastically while he took the tome out of its resting place.

Ignoring Blaise, Theo proceed to touch the tome like it was made out of gold. "It's beautiful."

"Typical Nott." muttered Blaise under his breath. He let Theo cradled the tome while he whirled his head around to scan the room. "Shall we get out of here now that you found what are you looking for? Unless you want to be dead by tomorrow morning in the hands of a school matron."

Theo nodded, seemingly far too happy for words to describe. "Sure, just mess around with the books in the middle section. That's where Stori said she _accidentally_ opened the exit." He pointed to the lonely shelf in the middle of the room. "Five galleons they were disgracing this room like nobody ever did before." He added in an undertone.

"Technically, that could be true." said Blaise thoughtfully as he lifted the books randomly. "Obviously, nobody had been in here before so they _could_ be the first couple ever to disgrace this place."

"You don't know that." Theo pointed out. "Who is to say Slytherin or Gryffindor never fooled around a bit in here? I heard Ravenclaw is quite a beauty, and Hufflepuff could be quite a charming lady at times."

Blaise snorted at him. "You should really stop with all of those vivid imaginations. It is quite disturbing, period. Oh, right on time." He exclaimed as the shelf finally slid to the side to reveal another dark tunnel. "Now, let's get the bloody hell out of here!"

Theo said nothing in reply, but dutifully trailed after him. He looked down and trained his eyes on the heavy tome in his arms instead, intrigued by the gold-lettered runes decorating the red cover. It didn't take long for them to emerge into the same room they were locked in the other day, which looked exactly the same as when they left it except for the lack of lights surrounding it now.

"Now, if we could carefully sneak our way into the Hospital Wing without making any noise, we should be—"

"What are you doing here?"

Theo and Blaise simultaneously felt the sudden chill running down their spine as they stopped dead in their track, paralyzed with inexplicable fear and anxiety. They stood there, rooted to the spot while the sound of footsteps echoed through the air, steadily approaching them. When it finally stopped right behind them, they gathered the courage and slowly spun around with a matching troubled expression. They looked almost like a child being caught stealing candies. Out of instinct, Theo cautiously hid the tome behind him while trying to keep a straight face.

"G-Ginevra.." stuttered Blaise while glancing at Theo, quietly signalling for help.

Unfortunately, Theo was not as quick-witted as he self-proclaimed. He just furrowed his brows with confusion at first before forming an 'O' with his lips. "I think this is my cue to leave. I'll leave you two to.. talk." He announced stupidly, which earned him a piercing murderous glare from Blaise as he began edging forward towards the opened door. The tome somehow remained hidden from view. Once close enough to the door, he began taking off at an incredible speed, disappearing in seconds.

There was a pregnant silence for a split second.

"Hey.." Blaise broke the silence by greeting the other in an awkward manner. "Why are you here this late at night, love? Shouldn't you be asleep already? Or is it possible that you're feeling lonely all alone in our chamber?"

"Don't flatter yourself." The redhead witch retorted while rolling her eyes. "I was running some errand for Professor McGonagall, but I heard some noise in here just now so I came to check. Why am I not surprise to find you here?" She sighed at the rhetorical question.

"Because you have been secretly fantasizing about me?" Blaise wiggled his brows suggestively, returning to his usual flirty mode. "Oh Merlin, what an honour!"

Ginny instantly shot him a look of are-you-freaking-kidding-me-right-now. She propped her hands on her hips, looking eerily similar to Molly Weasley at the moment. Taping her feet against the floor almost impatiently, she looked at him up and down as though appraising him before abruptly inching closer menacingly.

"You," Ginny breathed, causing Blaise's mind racing just slightly ahead of his pounding heart once he recalled the fact that she was with Professor McGonagall just minutes ago. "—are coming with me."

Blaise blinked, swallowing loudly with one last coherent thought.

"Crap."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 : The Missing Piece of The Puzzle**

Theo tilted his head to the side, watching a certain sorely disheveled wizard with one brow raised almost to his hairline. He tried his best to smother his laugh, keeping an amused expression on his face instead as he observed the other glaring at his feets as if it was some sort of a plague.

"This is so bloody unfair!" Blaise finally exploded before throwing his pillow onto the floor. He crossed his arms, and began jutting his lower lip out like a small child.

"I'm not picking that up for you." Theo deadpanned, directing his eyes towards the abandoned pillow on the floor.

Blaise huffed, and glared at him. "Did you even see this?" He promptly attempted to half-lift his legs, which was cuffed to the end of the bed with glowing red bonds-something akin to the rings of Saturn. It glowed even brighter around his ankles at the slightest shift of his legs, and he could almost swore it even tightened whenever his ankles slipped too far away from each other. "I thought it was all just a bad dream! An extremely unbelievable, utterly ridiculous nightmare!" He gestured his hands around exasperatedly.

"Your brain is not quite that advance to imagine that far, mate." Theo sniggered, which earned him an offended look from the other.

"Where did she even learned this charm in the first place?" Opting to ignore Theo, Blaise grumbled moodily as he leaned slightly forward to inspect his legs for the umpteenth times.

"I reckon she finds all of those treasure in the restricted section of the library. She spends most of her time with Granger, who has like the priority access or something. What do you expect?" said Theo nevertheless, acting totally oblivious to Blaise's apparent refusal to talk to him.

Blaise mumbled incoherently under his breath, and threw his hands in the air with defeat. He turned to the table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop, courtesy to his visiting housemates when he was unconscious yesterday, and stared at it for a short moment. Then, he abruptly furrowed his brows, and poked the pile slightly.

"I swear there's much more than this last night."

Theo's eyes suddenly glittered with delight while he let out a short chuckle.

"What's so funny, you mental nutbag?"

Theo smirked. "Remember when that Gryffindor princess of yours shoved the sleeping potion down your throat last night?" Theo snapped his fingers with sarcasm. "Right, you don't. You fainted right away, and missed the highlight of the show." He paused, blatantly enjoying the look of curiosity plastered across Blaise's face.

"Moving on." drawled Blaise a tad bit forcefully, aware of the other's intention.

"Well, Gryffindor lot is a bunch of dense squids for the record." He slowly shook his head while placing a hand over his heart as if he was expressing his pity for the Gryffindors. "She didn't even noticed a very wide awake _me_ watching over her when she spotted your pile of candies over there and sparks of flames literally erupted in her eyes." He added casually, a hint of amusement lacing his tone.

"What happened then?" Blaise prompted, unable to fight the curiosity from taking control over him.

"She whisked her wand out, and transfigured a huge part of it into a pile of ashes." Theo replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I reckon she threw some of it into the dustbin too. Oh, my bad. I meant, _tossed_ it into the dustbin."

"She did.. _what_?" Blaise's jaw dropped to the floor. His eyes widened comically as he stared at Theo with disbelief. "She did _not_!" shrieked him at last, looking scandalized as he began frantically digging around the pile of sweet treats. He only emerged a few seconds later with a loud heave of relieved sigh, holding a huge bag of Toffee Eclair in his embrace.

"I would've incinerated it all if I were her." Theo commented with a shrug. "But, she obviously did not so her loss."

"B-But.. it's just some candies!" He protested while hugging the bag of toffees tightly against his chest, almost as if his life depended on it.

Theo scowled at the other's obliviousness. "One word, mate. It's what we called as _jealousy_."

Blaise instantly tilted his head to the side, and furrowed his brows. ".. what?" Some of the toffees fell on the floor as he became too confused with Theo's words to even notice that he was losing his hold on the bag.

"Most of it is from your fans." Theo stated as a matter-of-fact. "Anybody who could possibly miss the sight of those pink, heart-shaped cards must be _extraordinarily_ blind." He promptly gestured at the said cards neatly tucked at the bottom of the pile.

"B—But.." Blaise frowned, unable to find the right words to say. "—that's so hypocrite of her!" He finally argued. "She has almost the entire male population of this school on their knees for her! One time, I had to fight my way into our chamber because her fans were lining up outside of the chamber to meet her! I was this close to hexing them off into next week. What are they even thinking, trying to court someone's bloody fiancée? Those insolent, pea-brained gits—"

Blaise abruptly halted once he realised much too late what he just said. He gulped audibly, and slapped a hand across his mouth. He quickly made a mental note to bang his head against the wall at the first opportunity later.

To his surprise, there was only silence first from Theo's side for a brief moment.

"Wow," came his eventual response, musing more to himself. "I never thought there will be a day where Blaise Zabini and his infamous casanova arse will finally succumb to the power of love. Never even thought I'll be alive to witness it myself!" Theo spreaded his arms, and just suddenly laughed out loud. "I'm so proud of you, mate!"

"What in Merlin's most, baggy Y fronts—"

"Shut it, Blaise. I'm trying to appreciate your long-awaited tranformation into a man here."

"Alright, what is that even supposed to mean—"

"Should I be expecting a wedding invitation any sooner?" Theo interrupted, wiggling his brows suggestively. "I would be incredibly most honoured to throw a bachelor party for you. I know a place." He suggested with a wicked smile.

"You wish!" came Blaise's immediate reply, accompanied by a box of jelly beans flying out of his hands. "In case you haven't notice, this—" He gestured wildly at his legs. "—is all her doing!"

Theo popped one of the jelly beans into his mouth with a mocking smile tugging the corner of his lips. "If you change your mind, just be sure to inform me as soon as possible."

Blaise glared. "Don't you have something else to do?"

"No?"

"Why don't you take that bloody book, the one that you forced a weak patient like me to get up from my warm bed in the middle of the night, and go all the way to the North Tower, which is like two bloody towers away by the way, only to get caught by my bloody menace of a fiancée, who cuffed me to the bed like a bloody prisoner, and stuff your face into it until you hopefully finish your last, dying breath?" He finished with a deep breath, still glaring.

"Woah, too much bloody there." Theo commented. "But, good idea." After scanning around, and cautiously making sure there was nobody else, but the two of them there, he carefully retreated the old tome from inside the extra pillow that had been lying next to his crossed legs all this time.

Meanwhile, Blaise was munching on his Cauldron Cake noisily as Theo began shifting through the yellowed pages. He still kept his gaze fixed on the latter, but not necessarily interested in finding out more about the content of the infamous tome. In contrary, Theo had multiple expressions appearing on his face every single time he opened a new page in the tome, his eyes almost rivaling a saucepan by now. At one point, he suddenly let out a loud gasp before abruptly covering his mouth in fear of attracting Madam Pomfrey's attention. He managed to attract Blaise's attention though, who was in the middle of playing the Chubby Bunny game with himself. (From the look of it, he's either a chipmunk in human disguise or he used to be one in his past life.)

".. wat ith zie?" He asked through mouth full of toffees, unable to swallow fast enough.

Despite his eagerness to confide, Theo immediately scrunched up his face with disgust. "Swallow first, you moron. What are you, a barbarian?"

Blaise rolled his eyes exaggeratedly before swallowing everything with much effort. "What is it?" He repeated, directing his eyes to the opened tome on Theo's lap. "Did you found the cure to mental illness, which we could hopefully dump on those mental nutheads proudly identifying themselves as a part of the blasted Wizengamot? Or is there any possible mentions of the Marriage Law and their loopholes perhaps?" He snapped his fingers with sudden enthusiasm. "Ways on how to tame a certain bloody menace of a witch should do too."

"No, I think I found _the book_!" Theo announced with sparkling eyes, keeping his voice down to a harsh whisper.

".. what book?" Blaise blinked stupidly. From the look, there was no denying that he was genuinely in confusion. "Are you talking about the book that Loony Lovegood had been rambling about since a few days ago? The one full of creatures as bizarre as she is, and also the very same one you've been dying to find for her? Seriously, I swear you're in no place to talk about me and my lady in the first place, mate—"

"I just thought it will be a good Christmas present for her!" said Theo defensively. "You know, to make up for my.. not-so-approriate behaviour, and all." He instinctively rubbed his nape in a bashful manner.

"Sure." replied Blaise mockingly, dragging the word out on purpose.

Theo scowled. "It's not that anyway, you git."

"Then what?" Blaise rolled his eyes dramatically. "What could possibly be more important than this whole madness brought by the ruddy Marriage Law? It hasn't even been a month since we're back to school, and my life has already been turned upside down. My whole future is already looking so far away, and surrounded by darkness now." He stretched out one hand to the front as if calling out for his long-lost lover while the other was placed on his chest. He had an exaggerated pained look plastered across his sharp features, which earned him a judging look from yours truly, Theo.

"That's not what you said just now." Theo retorted. "Pretty sure I smelled jealousy in the air just now, and jealousy equals to love. Darkness my arse, more like surrounded by the vision of seeing her in a white dress, walking down the aisle, am I right?"

"Not right!" replied Blaise, his voice going an octave higher than usual. "Absolutely wrong! Blimey, your assumption is as bad as the Dark Lord's ability to love."

"Yeah, right. Speaking of which, what could possibly be more important you say? How about.. a book containing the spells and incantations needed to bring a lost soul back to life? A lost soul like, say the Dark Lord? How does that sounds to you? Does it sounds important enough to you to fit into your ridiculous list of important matters now?" said Theo while pointedly tapping the opened tome on his lap.

Blaise instantly snapped his head around to face him, gawking with disbelief.

"You mean - ressurection spells - the book - _the_ _Dark Lord_?"

Theo shrugged, staring down at the tome grimly. "I guess."

Blaise's first reaction was to drop his jaw onto the floor.

~~X~~

"Come on, Ginny." Hermione urged, looking over her shoulder as she pulled the said girl along behind her. Alright, maybe pulled didn't quite do justice to what it actually looked like. She literally had to drag the witch along with a highly amused Draco striding with leisure behind them.

"Hermione, I don't care even if he's on his deathbed." grumbled Ginny as she struggled not to stumble upon her own legs.

"Don't be like that." Hermione scolded. "Malfoy told me it's quite bad. What if something happens to him?"

"I would be excluded from the Marriage Law?" Ginny looked up hopefully. "Or maybe, the least they can do for me is finding a whole new partner for me. A much, _much_ more good-looking one, and most importantly, one with brain unlike that good-for-nothing thickheaded prat—"

"Ginny!"

"What?" said Ginny defensively. "First, he hexed me with a Confundus charm, then he went ahead and told his mum about me despite our mutual agreement, and then he just had to injure himself right before my eyes. I was worried sick about him, only to find him wandering out of the Hospital Wing late at night! He should be thankful I didn't hex him into next week."

Hermione shot a pointed glare at the stubborn witch.

"Oh, alright." Ginny relented, albeit reluctantly of course. "I'll just come in, and see if he's still - unfortunately for me - breathing. Maybe I could sneak up on him if he's still hopefully asleep to shove a pillow square in his face and drown him to death or something. D'you reckon they'll pay me the compensation for surviving spouse or something? Or, should I say reward since I'm actually doing everyone a favor if you think about it since I'm getting rid of _the_ Blaise Zabini after all."

"They should." Draco interjected from behind them. "Imagine a world without Blaise Zabini hogging every open space in it. Blimey, I could even smell the sweet scent of freedom already. I'll definitely owe you one for that, Weaslette."

"I know, right?"

Hermione mustered her most murderous glare towards Draco before turning to the redheaded witch. "Ginevra!"

"You sound awfully lot like mum." Ginny made a face while she tugged her hand free from Hermione's hold. Half-willingly, she stepped forward ahead of the other two, and entered the Hospital Wing first. Her gaze instantly fell on the bizarre sight of Theo on top of Blaise on the latter's bed. Theo had Blaise's both hands pinned up above his head, and they simultaneously looked up at the sound of her footsteps.

"What the—"

Hermione's surprised gasp instantly could be heard emerging right behind her, followed by Draco's revolted gagging.

"I don't know you guys are into _this_." Draco furrowed his brows. "Merlin, if I had known, I swear I would've begged Professor Snape days and night for petition to change my dormitory. All this time, I could've gotten molested in my sleep, and I didn't even know!" He shuddered at the thought, and almost instinctively crossed his hands in a protective manner.

The two wizards on the bed, who was frozen after being caught off-guard just now, finally snapped out of it, and quickly scrambled to distance themselves from each other. Blaise especially, made a huge show of supposedly dusting himself from all the sins forcefully inflicted on him, which was honestly just a distraction to allow some time for Theo to grab the old tome, and hopefully hid it from view. Unfortunately, they were reacting much too late as Hermione's scrunitizing gaze had already zeroed in on the ancient volume.

"What is that?"

Blaise stopped blabbering at once while Theo gulped audibly.

"Umm.. i-it's—"

"It's nothing!" Blaise interrupted loudly. "Just some book for.. bedtime stories. Yeah, bedtime stories!"

"What are you, five?" Ginny looked totally unconvinced before she promptly inched closer towards the sweating Theo. "You hate reading." She stated as a matter-of-fact while narrowing her eyes in Blaise's direction.

"And that's some real ancient runes on the cover." Hermione observed.

"When two all-too-powerful witches are teaming up against you like this, you better start speaking up, mate. Do it fast before they blow you up into bits." Draco advised with a serious look. (He would know, he got punched by one of them once.)

"Give it to me." Ginny demanded, holding out her hand impatiently.

"No." Both of them spoke up in unison.

"Over our dead body first!" added Blaise after a quick thinking.

"What are you waiting for then?" Ginny retorted back. "Drop dead now then, and I'll happily walk over your dead bodies."

Blaise blinked before exchanging a glance with Theo.

"Just give it here, mate."

"No!" Blaise suddenly wailed, stretching out his arms in front of Theo in his failed attempt to use his body as a human shield.

Ginny rolled her eyes, and simply brandished her wand instead. " _Accio To_ _me_!"

"No!" His wailing grew even louder as the tome flew out of Theo's hands, and went right into Ginny's hand. The witch smirked victoriously at him. Still sobbing, Blaise suddenly straightened up, and began turning all around on his bed, searching frantically for his own wand. He eventually sat up properly, wand in hand with a satisfied look. "You ask for it, Ginevra! _Accio Tome_!"

"Oho, you did not just do that! _Accio_!"

"Ginny, stop!"

"Back off, woman! This is mine!" The tome quickly flew out of Ginny's hands all over again, right into Blaise's waiting hands. " _Protego_!"

" _Reducto_!" Ginny smirked viciously just as the shield shattered easily due to her well-placed Reductor curse. "You do not mess with a member of the Dumbledore's Army, my sweet. _Petrificus Totalus_!"

Thankfully, the spell missed him by an inch. "Oi, that was uncalled for!"

"Be thankful it's not my Bat-Bogey hex!"

"She's going to kill me!" shrieked Blaise, diving under his pillow, and unintentionally flinging the tome away. The sight didn't went unnoticed by Theo, who quickly had his eyes on the tome with a longing look.

However, Ginny beat him to it as she summoned the tome right into her hands. She stared at it for a short moment, tilting her head to the side in wonder. Then, she shook off any thought that might had occured to her, and handed it over towards Hermione instead.

"Go on, Hermione." She encouraged. "Let's see just what on earth this lot are trying to hide from us."

Theo visibly blanched while Blaise was still cowering under his pillow, not even aware of the current situation. Meanwhile, Hermione was deep in concentration as she slowly traced her finger over the cover that been inscribed with a wealth of runes.

"Where did you guys even dig this out?" mused Draco, intrigued by the golden letters.

Ginny crossed her arms. "Somewhere illegal I reckon."

"Oi, that's not true!" Theo protested almost immediately. ".. not entirely anyway."

"I knew it."

"Hi." A vague, and dreamy voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Am I interrupting something?" They looked up almost in unison, coming face to face with none other than Theo's very own fiancée, Luna. If he was panicking earlier, he became even way beyond that now. He quickly jumped out of his bed, where he had taken a seat earlier along with Draco, and his hands noticeably became restless. He unconsciously attempted to straighten up his pyjamas, which was an extremely futile effort on his part.

"Hi, Luna." Ginny greeted back with a smile. "Did you come to visit _this_?" She abruptly pointed at Theo as if he was diagnosed with a highly infectious disease.

"Yes. Thanks to you for telling me, I come as soon as I can after class. I don't know what to bring though, so I brought some Gurdyroots for you, Theodore. It's best for warding off Gulping Plimpies." Draco, who was the nearest to the side table, instinctively reacted by leaning away as far as possible the moment she placed the evil-smelling green plant there.

"You could've brought something _normal_." muttered Draco before he quickly changed the topic upon noticing the stern glare from Ginny. "What's with the name though? The last time I ever heard someone calling him with that name is when that one time I came to visit him at his house, and his mother yelled at him for stepping on their family's pet to death."

Theo waved dismissively. "It's a long story."

"I'm sure we have time for it-" No sooner had he spoken those words than they were interrupted by a loud gasp from Hermione. Everyone instantly zeroed in on the brunette, catching her mix of surprised and annoyed expression. It managed to pull even Blaise out of his safe haven, the latter carefully peering over his pillow while glancing warily at Ginny.

Hermione huffed, and glared at Theo. "You have this all this time, and you didn't even bother telling any of us about it?"

The rest - save for Blaise - alternated a glance between the two with confusion.

"Look, you're getting it all wrong." Theo tried to explain, though he still looked partly guilty. "I don't have it all this time. I just found it last night."

"But, you must have known about it beforehand for you to be able to find it!" Hermione argued back. "We could've figured out about this Black Book a lot more sooner than this."

"I know that book." Luna suddenly blurted out. "The Black Book, I meant."

"The Black - what?" said Ginny and Draco simultaneously. Then, they turned to face each other, and scowled.

Hermione sighed, and began to flip the pages to the one particular page that she was reading just now. "The Book of the Dead or better known colloquially as 'the Black Book', was an Ancient Egyptian book made out of pure obsidian. The Book of the Dead contained ancient spells and incantations that could resurrect the dead and summon the Warriors of the Book. It also consisted the spells and incantations needed to bring a lost soul back to life as well as to perform other rituals such as the deterioration of the undead. It's counterpart, the Book of Amun-Ra, was better known as 'Book of the Living'." She finished by slamming the book shut, looking up expectantly towards the other. "Don't you guys see it? This is the book that the Death Eaters are looking for because this is what the prophecy meant."

".. _seeks the way through the Living and the Dead._ " murmured Draco absently. He began repeating the prophecy under his breath, trying to piece the puzzles together. He eventually snapped his head up, eyes widened in realisation.

"Exactly." said Hermione, confirming his thought. "They are trying to resurrect him, just like what had been foretold in the prophecy. In order to do so, they need the book to figure out how. Quite amazing actually how they managed to figure it all out."

"Oh, trust me. They _could_ be quite resourceful when they want to." Theo scoffed. "That is if they are not too busy creating entertainment out of hanging people upside down of course."

"Well, that settles it then." Blaise spoke up from his bed. "Let's find the book, and destroy it or we could find the other book, the one about the living, yadda yadda yadda, and be right there to send their mad master back on a one-way trip to hell when they resurrect him. I am so done with being ordered all around by a mad man."

"But, it's lost." Luna stated as a matter-of-factly. "Thousands of years ago since the last guardian of the book, an Egyptian king, died. They said it was buried with him among all of his other treasure, but it was never found when they discovered his tomb."

Draco abruptly raised a hand, halting the Ravenclaw witch from talking further. "How did you even know that?"

"My father published an article about it once in the Quibbler." She blinked, staring back at him weirdly as if that much was obvious to everyone. (Unfortunately, it's not.) "Some locals in Egypt told him of the story when we stayed there during our expedition to find Flaming Gee-Bees. We didn't find any Flaming Gee-Bees so he thought that story is better than nothing at all."

"What in the name of Merlin is a Flaming Gee-Bee?" whispered Blaise with confusion.

"It's better if you don't ask." replied Hermione in an equally low whisper.

"At least, she is not talking about those Umgubular Slashkilter." murmured Theo.

"Umgu— what?"

"Never mind."

Blaise shot an unmistakable look of judging towards the latter, but didn't argue further. He began focusing his attention on Draco and Luna instead, who were currently involved in a heated argument regarding the existence of Luna's many imaginary creatures, when he suddenly recalled something.

"Ginevra," He called out, shaking his cuffed legs indignantly. "About time you unleash this, don't you think?"

Ginny raised a brow with arms folded closely to her chest. "Now, why should I?"

"Just because, woman!" He snapped back, undoubtedly growing upset of the witch's nonchalant demeanour. (Well, it was quite understandable though considering he had been forcibly restrained to his bed all night long, and he was quite certainly about to die of suffocation here due to the lack of ability to move around.) "This is quite absolutely barbaric, don't you agree?"

"Oh, I don't know." Ginny flipped her hair indifferently. "Manners maketh man, they say. I didn't see anything remotely close to that though so I assume it is perfectly fine to be slightly barbaric after all."

Blaise groaned, and slumped his face against his arms, muttering something incoherent under his breath. It took him a few seconds to emerge back, albeit begrudgingly.

"Alright then." Blaise huffed before biting his lower lip. "Ginevra, my sweet little sunshine— Merlin, I can't do this!" He shook his head a few times as if to clear it from the petrifying thought before looking up with exasperation. "She is nowhere near _sweet,_ and even calling her something as simple as little sunshine will be an insult to the poor sun!"

"Why you—"

"I'll do it." Hermione interjected impatiently, already sensing the brewing tension. She effortlessly undid the spell with a wave of her wand before sending a reproving look in Ginny's direction, in which the younger witch replied with a loud, indignant huff.

"Oh sweet Salazar, like finally!"

"I told you." Theo quipped, inclining his head towards Hermione. "Whatever that charm is, she obviously found it in the library so you could wager the Brightest Witch of Our Age would naturally know about it."

Hermione shrugged. "Where's Cra— I meant, the _other_ patients though?" Hermione prompted - though she was smart enough to stop herself from mentioning any names - as she craned her neck around, and finally took notice of the empty beds around them.

"Not here, that's for sure." Blaise answered without looking, still obsessing over his feet.

Theo did a quick roll of his eyes. "He's totally out for the count this morning so you might as well question the wall if you're expecting some answer from him." Blaise shrugged, thoroughly unconcerned. "If you are really curious though, I'll spare you from the torture just because I know Draco will go nuts if I'm not treating her lady right." Hermione visibly blushed in response to the blunt statement, though Theo remained oblivious. "Those lot was deemed fit to be discharged this morning so Madam Pomfrey ushered them to class as soon as they spooned their last bit of breakfast. Quite amusing actually to see the priceless look on their face when they realised they no longer have any excuses to evade class."

"Shame." commented Blaise, turning to them with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "I was already planning on presenting those fellow housemates of us with a special gift. You know, some good luck charms for speedy recovery."

"Yeah, right." said Theo, definitely unconvinced. "Ten galleons there is a high amount of Bulbadox powder already secretly crammed into those seemingly harmless charms."

Blaise gasped dramatically. "I would do no such thing! How could you accuse me of something as preposterous as that?" His expression betrayed him though as he squinted suspiciously at Theo, assesing him as if trying to figure out how the latter was able to guess his move.

"You - did - _what_?" Hermione interrupted sharply, her prefect instinct naturally kicking in.

"Nothing." Blaise replied a tad bit too quickly. "Nott is just being his usual bumbling foolish self. Of course there is no such things as Bulbadox powder-filled charms as he mentioned—"

Much to his relief, Blaise was quickly saved by the sudden angry outburst from Draco, and the arrival of Madam Pomfrey. (The former bedgrudgingly admitted that the Ravenclaw witch had quite a solid cause to defend her imaginary creatures, her main argument being half of the world is still left unexplored, and new discoveries were being made almost yearly, if not monthly, around the world.)

"The wound is healing quite nicely, and there is no other visible injuries as far as I can see." Madam Pomfrey muttered, more to herself as she fussed over Theo. She inspected his affected hand first, turning it all over again for any sign of further injury before slowly nodding her head in approval.

"Is he alright?" asked Luna, in which Theo immediately came to wonder if she was genuinely concerned or it was simply her good nature making an appearance. Merlin, if only the boy knew.

"Oh yes, and I don't see any point of detaining him here any longer than necessary either. You're free to go now, Mister Nott. I'm quite certain they just started serving lunch in the Great Hall so you might be able to arrive just in time to grab a bite before class." She turned to look at Blaise straight in the eyes. "While you, Mister Zabini, would have to stay for a while. Your bruises are looking quite nasty for the time being so it's best to stay put, and rest. I'll be back with your potions later." The school's matron quickly disappeared into her office just as quick as she came.

Theo's first reaction was to groan out loud.

"Well, guess what's up next?" taunted Draco while patting the other's back with mocked sympathy.

Blaise raised a hand as if he was in class, clearing his throat before answering. "Transfiguration, am I right?" Nobody replied, but he resumed talking anyway. "And if I'm not quite mistaken, it's the last day to perfect the Conjuring Spells. Good luck with that, mate."

Theo glared at the other's smug look, ready to strangle the living daylight out of his - unfortunately - fellow housemate. But, Luna being her usual self, didn't see the silent exchange, and proceed to tug Theo out of his bed instead.

"Come, Theodore." said Luna while pulling Theo to his feet. "I'll walk you to the Great Hall."

Theo gave one last, tortured look towards them before he was being dragged out of there by the bright witch. That left the four of them there, but Draco and Hermione quickly got the message. The couple promptly bid a hasty goodbye towards Blaise before they literally made a run for the door, successfully leaving the two alone before they even realised what's happening.

"And yet, she said they have absolutely _nothing_ in common." Ginny scoffed when she finally realised their intention. She glanced once at her assigned partner, weighing her options before rising to her feet at last. "I'm out of here." She announced unnecessarily, already turning her back to the only patient left in the room. Obviously, being left alone with the other was not an option to her. If anything, it should be the very last thing on earth she would like to do at the very moment.

However, Blaise apparently had another idea in mind. Ginny was barely a few steps away when Blaise caught her hands in one quick, swift motion, successfully spinning her around to face him all over again. There was a sheepish grin carved onto his face as Ginny's gaze automatically landed on him.

"Stay?" He pleaded even before Ginny managed to open her mouth, trying his best to muster the infamous kicked puppy look. "It's just that - I'm all alone here - I meant, don't take it the wrong way, but.." He trailed off hesitantly as he looked down while rubbing his nape with his free hand. He eventually decided against resuming his words, and just looked up expectantly at her instead. "Just stay for a moment, would you? At least, until Madam Pomfrey brings me the blasted sleep potion to knock me out. I'm sure Professor McGonagall won't mind. In fact, she should be elated since this is what exactly the kind of things they promote here, don't they?"

Ginny didn't reply right away, clearing her throat repeatedly instead to indicate his tight grip on her wrist.

"Oh, right. My bad."

"You don't have to grip on me _that_ hard." mumbled Ginny while rubbing the sore spot. Then, almost naturally, she sat down on the chair next to the bed. Very subtle and quite a smooth move on her part, but it didn't went unnoticed by Blaise, who was already grinning broadly. He kept his mouth shut though, aware of the likeness of her sprinting out of the room the moment he broached on the subject. For the next few minutes, they sat in complete silence, unsure on what to do or say.

"So.." Blaise finally ended up of breaking the silence first. "Do you want to help me up?"

Ginny quickly eyed him with suspicion. "What for? As far as I can see, there is absolutely nothing wrong with your legs so you should be able to do that on your own. But, you're not allowed to leave your bed so there is no point either way."

"Come off it, Ginevra. You cuffed me down to a bed all night long. A _bed_ , mind you. You can't exactly expect me not to lose all of my senses down there." Blaise halted, tapping a finger to his chin. "Merlin's beard, that just sounds so wrong, isn't it? Anyway, just give me a hand here, woman. Any seconds longer, and I think I'm going to go mad from being bedridden for so long. I need some fresh air."

"B-But.."

"Blimey, you're just as bad as Granger." Blaise rolled his eyes before gesturing towards the farthest end of the ward. "There is a huge window down there. I'm not going to run away or wander off this place if that's what you're worried about. I'm just going to take some fresh air there. Happy now?"

Ginny made a face, but stood up nevertheless. "Fine then." She made a huge show out of expressing her apparent distaste as she slowly inched closer to Blaise to help him out of the bed. After pulling his arm over her shoulder, they slowly made their way to the window, but not without a series of endless grumbling from Ginny.

"Seriously, Ginevra," said Blaise when they finally arrived. "You would've think I'm condemning you to an eternity of hell."

"That's not exactly far-fetched." She pointed out.

Blaise rolled his eyes while releasing his hold around her, using the wall to support his weight instead as he stuck his head out through the opened window. He promptly closed his eyes while inhaling deeply.

"You know, for someone that just recently proclaimed her love, you sure do have such a peculiar way of showing it." Ginny's head snapped up even faster than Snape being offered shampoo, squinting her eyes at the Slytherin who was calmly enjoying the late September air. "As you might had noticed, my fans generally went to such great lengths trying to appeal me. Gifts, praises, you name it." He added when he received no response from her, sounding like he was bragging quite proudly until he mused his next words quietly. "But you, dear one, are truly one of a kind."

"And that's supposed to be a bad thing?" Ginny finally replied, inquiring in an almost challenging manner. (Let's just plainly ignored the fact that she didn't even bothered denying that she _did_ proclaimed her love to the Slytherin wizard after all.)

"No." He popped his eyes open before shifting his gaze towards the Gryffindor witch. "It just made it nearly impossible for me to ignore you." He tilted his head to the side, openly staring at her in amusement. He was not bluffing when he said it was nearly impossible to ignore the witch because she really was making it hard - for anyone for that matter - to resist the temptation to figure her out. It was, after all, such a rare occurrence to witness a witch carelessly blabbing her feelings right to his face, and not exactly making an effort to deny it afterwards. (Boys being boys, especially a heartthrob the like of Blaise, obviously he was more used to shy girls confessing their feelings through carefully written handmade cards, or sometimes in the case of the more rabid one, stalking him everywhere while screaming bloody murder on his every step.)

Ginny raised a brow. "Well, glad to know.. I supposed." It really didn't take a genius to notice the thick sarcasm lacing her tone.

"I'm serious, Ginevra."

"Good for you."

" _Dead_ serious."

"Sure, I'm certain that _is_ the case."

"Ginevra-"

"What do you want me to do about it then?" Ginny snapped at last, looking annoyed rather than angry. "I caused the all almighty Blaise Zabini to notice my existence at last, oh wow, big deal as if the Ministry haven't already made sure of that. Should I what, grovel on the floor while shedding tears of joy or something? Why would I do that when I wasn't even sure if I was thinking straight when I said those words to you?"

"Ha! That's not what you said just now." Blaise smiled shrewdly, having caught her off-guard. "Besides, you certainly don't seem quite that unsure last night when you blasted my poor candies to bits. Jealous much, love?"

Ginny blanched involuntarily, not expecting him to know about her reckless act last night. It was simply a spur-of-the-moment decision for her. Maybe it was the frustration building up inside of her or maybe she had been possessed by the devil inside of her, the next thing she knew the tip of her wand was already shooting a powerful blast of red light in the direction of the carefully stacked colorful treats. When she realised much too late of what she had done, the damage was already irreversible, and she did the first thing that she could came up with. She fled the Hospital Wing, and locked herself up in her chamber, wondering what on earth brought that on. She was more than happy to spend the next few days brooding over her sudden mindless action until Hermione came along, and almost blasted the door off its hinges. And then, well, you know the rest of the story.

"Well?"

Ginny gulped. "I-I think I should.. get going."

"Nu-uh, you're not going anywhere without answering me." He firmly took ahold of her arm despite his recent injury. "No more running away, Ginevra. Let's talk this out between us. I'm tired of having to wonder all by myself what have I done wrong." His voice just suddenly dropped an octave, and took on a grim tone.

"I'm not running away from you." Ginny frowned, but avoided from looking into his eyes.

"Look, I was wrong, alright? I've been thinking real hard, and no matter how I looked at it, I think this is quite certainly my fault because of my reaction, isn't it? The way I stupidly blurted out all of those nonsense, and all, I don't blame you for getting mad at me. I know I was simply wrong by reacting the way I did after you, you know, just suddenly confessed like that, albeit accidentally. But, you can't entirely put all of the blame one me either because I actually have a rather good reason behind that, you know." Ginny instinctively raised a sceptical brow. "If you could just put yourself in my shoes for a moment, won't you agree the sheer idea of you, Ginevra Weasley, a war heroine, actually falling for an ex-Death Eater like me is quite far-fetched that the mere thought of it being possible would never have occurred to any sane lot in the wizarding world, myself included?"

Ginny opened her mouth to speak, but he instantly cut her off. His face morphed into a deadly serious expression. "Look at me, Ginevra. Look very carefully, and closely. Look past all of those snotty, little brat act, and open your eyes to the _real_ me inside. Could you see it? The monster that had been blindsided by the greed for power, and glory? The one who narrowly escaped being sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban eventhough he deserved absolutely no forgiveness? The one that even _I_ myself couldn't forgive." A short, bitter laugh escaped from the hollow of his throat when Ginny remained silent. "You can't so how could you, Ginevra? How could you possibly fall for me when you didn't even know the _real_ me? Even if you do, how could you possibly fall for someone so inexplicably tainted, and horrible like that? It just doesn't make sense. I don't know why on earth the mental Sorting Hat would put us together, but you, of all people, deserve someone much better than me."

Ginny narrowed her eyes, a hint of annoyance flickering across her face for a split second just as Blaise grabbed her arms, and began shaking her as if trying to bring her back to her sense. Wordlessly, she took ahold of his grip on her arms, and willed it to stay still as she finally fixed her gaze on him with surprising composure.

"Like I've said before," Ginny began with a smile that didn't quite reached her eyes. "People would've think I ought to fall for someone much better than you. War heroine or not, I've always been known at being excellent in choosing my date, you know."

Blaise couldn't help adding, "Except that one time you went with Longbottom to the Yule Ball."

"In case you'd forgotten, _love,_ Neville is as much of a hero as the rest of us are. He proved himself worthy of a true Gryffindor when he withdrew the sword from the Sorting hat - which was already a rare occurrence itself - and killed that blasted snake. So, my record still remained perfectly unaffected." Ginny shrugged.

"Well, that is definitely about to change soon." responded Blaise with a quiet murmur, clearly hinting himself as the incoming spoiler. Being a bright witch she is, Ginny obviously didn't missed the apparent self-hatred in his tone. She sighed, and hesitated for a few moment before mustering her courage, and reached out to touch his face.

"I don't like doing this because I'm horrible at it, but hear me out." There was a high determination lacing her voice. "I'll be the first to admit that I do not know the _real_ you. Aside from your name, and several trivial facts about yourself, I have absolutely no idea who you are or what you've done. But, I've been at your trials, and I've heard all of the possible crimes that had been listed out under your name. It's obviously enough to make any other girls running off into the opposite side, me included if I were to be honest with you, but I don't exactly have any other choice, do I? I was fatefully paired with you, as cruel as it is, or else my magic would be forcefully taken away from me, and my wand snapped into two. All of my memories about magic would be completely erased, which is basically my whole life since I was raised in a wizarding household. I couldn't possibly let that happen, and I like being a witch too, thank you very much, so I had to make the best out of this. That's when I started telling myself to look past everything, and to accept you for who you really are. It's not easy, but you admitted it yourself that you could never forgive yourself, which means at least you're decent enough to reflect on your misdeed. That alone is enough for me though I do wish for you to be able to forgive yourself one day."

Ginny could've sworn she saw Blaise's eyes glistening with tears for a split second, though he would later denied it vehemently.

"It got easier, you know." Ginny resumed nonchalantly as if she did not just saw the Slytherin wizard currently about to bawl his eyes out. "It became easier for me to be around you after that, though not fully _that_ at ease yet at the time. For the first two weeks, I spent most of the time observing you discreetly. I began making a mental note on what you do on daily basis to get the general idea of who you really are, but it's not until during our detention that you truly intrigued me." She spontaneously cracked a smile at the thought.

"What? Why?"

"You proved me wrong, albeit unconsciously of course."

"How so?"

"Do you remember when we first met?"

"You meant the day we really first met or—" Blaise cringed slightly, unable to finish his words when the vivid memories of it came to mind.

Ginny chuckled. "Definitely the latter. You left me with quite an impression there, you know."

"Look who's talking."

"The point is it's not exactly a great first impression on your part so I grew very sceptical of you despite my own words of trying to accept you for who you really are. Quite hypocrite of me, I know, but it's not like I could help it since I grew up with six - or maybe just five since Percy had always been the perfect little wizard he is - extremely rowdy brothers, and they are like the epitome of what you see is all there is. My past boyfriends didn't give me that much of a surprise either so naturally, that happened." Blaise noted she didn't look remotely guilty though. "You proved me wrong by showing me that there must be more to you than meets the eyes. Out of curiosity, I started eyeing you more closely afterwards, and before I knew it, I was actually already.. growing fond of you. I began to realise that I do not care of who you are in the past or what you've done because you must have your own reason for it, and everyone made a mistake at least once in their life. Even me. During my first year here, I was the one who released the Basilisk, and almost caused the death of my own bestfriend, and few other students. Harry too I supposed because I doubt Voldemort will come out of his diary after so long just to have a little chit chat over some tea." Ginny's hands fell to her side as she averted her eyes away, most likely in shame at the revelation. When she spoke up again after a few seconds of silence, it became cystal clear to Blaise as on how she managed to win so many hearts effortlessly. "They say a boy and a girl can never be just friends forever, you know. I guess this is why." Blaise was left with his mouth hanging open as he stared at the witch like never before.

About an hour later, when Madam Pomfrey approached the bed with the promised potions, she instantly furrowed her brows at the sight that welcomed her. Placing the tray aside on the side table, she inched closer while observing the young wizard inquiringly.

"Mister Zabini?" She called out. "Are you alright?"

All she got in response was a broad grin from the unnaturally happy student.

"Madam Pomfrey?" said Blaise just a moment later once the school's matron finished providing him the potions.

"Yes, Mister Zabini?"

"I think I'm in love."

And then, there was the loud snoring from him, leaving a very flabbergasted Madam Pomfrey there.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 : Professor McGonagall and Her "Good News"**

Hermione was silence all the way to the Transfiguration class, seemingly deep in thought. Her brows were knitted closely together while her eyes stared into a distance, not really looking where she was going. Naturally, she nearly bumped into someone coming from the opposite side, which just so happened to be a very grumpy-looking Professor Snape. Pretty sure she would've landed herself in a month's detention if it wasn't because of Draco, who pulled her right in time to avoid the collision, which ended up with her completely wrapped in the Slytherin's arms. Meanwhile, Professor Snape halted, and openly stared at them before a deep scowl slowly crawled its way onto his already sour expression.

"Five points from Gryffindor." drawled Professor Snape, throwing one last look of distaste towards them, and disappearing in a swish of black robe.

"Watch it, Granger." chided Draco, but he was not looking at her. His gaze was fixed on Snape's disappearing back instead, weirded out by the older man's apparent grumpiness. Sure, the bloke's almost _always_ grumpy, but never with such a disapproving stare rivaling Professor McGonagall. Especially not towards his most prized student. (A friendly reminder from yours truly that _that_ would be Draco for you if you haven't figured it out.)

In stark contrast, Hermione's face hardened into a frown. All trace of her previously dazed state vanished into thin air, leaving a very annoyed witch behind. She glared daggers in the same direction as Draco, making it very obvious who was the source of her annoyance.

"That's a foul play." said Hermione disapprovingly. She couldn't care less about the Head of Slytherin's current mood, only recognizing the unfairity of the situation.

Draco returned his attention towards the witch, and snorted. "All is fair in love and war, and it _is_ a war between the Houses."

"Rubbish." Hermione disagreed, but she suddenly grew alarmed of their close proximity when she attempted to glare at the taller wizard. Her face instantly grew hot with embarassment, noticing with a start of Draco's arms still tightly wounded around her waist. She can even smelled the mint in his breath, and a hint of his cologne, which she could only described as something akin to the scent of spiced woods mixed with cool damp notes, and masculine florals with a tad bit hint of wormwood. The scent was strangely soothing despite its strange assortments, which ought to bring out a much stronger, and overhelming fragrance.

Draco rolled his eyes. "It could've been much worse, you know. It's a common knowledge to us in the Slytherin house that it is _always_ much wiser of you to avoid him whenever he's in such a foul mood. Once, poor little Higgins from Hufflepuff crossed him, and he ended up of scrubbing cauldrons for months." Oblivious to Hermione's growing discomfort, he leaned closer, and narrowed his eyes. "You should be thanking me instead, Granger."

Hermione muttered inaudibly under her breath.

"What?" Draco strained his ear to listen. "I didn't quite catch that."

"I said, _thank you_. There, happy now?"

"Much better."

It was Hemione's turn to roll her eyes. "Well, if you're quite done there, would you be so kind as to release me this instant?" She gestured towards his arms with her eyes. "Pretty please?" She added with a hint of sarcasm when she noticed his raised brow.

Unfortunately for Hermione, who was trying her hardest not to let it show that the color on her face had deepened another few shades, Draco didn't respond as fast she expected. She was half-expecting for him to immediately drop her on the floor, and probably flail all the way to their class like a headless chicken, most likely spouting some highly inappropriate curse words about Muggle-Borns with a huge sneer on his face while he was at it. Instead, his brow only raised slightly higher than before as he slowly looked down, and stared at their position with amusement, almost as if he was noticing the matter for the first time. Then, he abruptly lifted his head with hints of a smirk slowly spreading across his face, followed quickly by a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Hermione only had seconds to think, ' _Uh-oh.'_ before she found herself staring right into his cold grey eyes, his face barely an inch from her own. She can also felt him casually tightening his grip around her waist, which immediately caused Hermione to find it quite hard to even breathe properly all of a sudden.

"Why? Does this bother you a lot, Granger?" taunted Draco with a fully formed smirk tugging the corner of his lips.

Instead of answering, Hermione's first reaction was to avert her eyes away, and strategically placed it just slightly above Draco's forehead so it won't be that obvious that she was totally trying to avoid meeting his eyes. Sadly, it didn't help for long because she was quick to become distracted by a stray strand of his hair that had somehow managed to escape the wrath of his gel, leading her eyes to travel upward towards his sleek white-blond hair. She hardly noticed before, but had his hair always been this shiny? Then, almost unwillingly, her gaze slowly travelled downward all the way to his pale lips. She hated to admit it, but yes, the Slytherin had an undoubtedly haughty good look, and it wasn't hard to see why he was so popular amongst the witches despite his spiteful behaviour.

"I must have gone off my rocker." Hermione blurted out, shaking her head a few times to clear her head. She did _not_ just mused on the Slytherin's physical appearance. "Shove off, Malfoy." She snapped, shoving his chest as hard as she can. He didn't entirely budge, but he did stagger backwards a little bit due to being caught off-guard.

"Blimey, Granger, I could've ended up on the floor," He scolded. "—with _you_ on top of me!" He added when Hermione didn't react as bad as he expected. In fact, the witch only scowled, and glared at him.

"Let - me - go - this - instant - then!" demanded Hermione while jabbing a finger in his chest with every word, feeling slightly satisfied when Draco groaned unwillingly in response.

"Seriously, Granger, were you raised by a troll or something? You're as violent as someone can get!" Draco rubbed the sore spot with his free hand, but still stubbornly not letting go of the witch.

"Well, were you raised by Peeves? Because you're about as annoying as someone can get." Hermione retorted.

"Fair point."

Hermione only glared some more in response.

"Alright, alright." Draco finally relented, slowly loosening up his grip. "Quit glaring, woman. You're scaring all of the Nargles away."

Hermione widened her eyes. "You did not just—"

"What?" said Draco, raising a brow followed by a sly grin. "We're going to be late to Transfiguration." He prompted, hindering Hermione from coming up with a reply. It worked because Hermione snapped out of it real quick, and literally began hyperventilating right then, and there.

"Merlin, the class - I almost forgot—" She spun on her heels so fast, she nearly knocked herself off her own feet. Witnessing that, Draco instinctively grabbed her wrist to prevent her from becoming a part of the floor.

Draco clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "We should do something about your obsession with achieving top grades, and all of those rubbish. It's quite alarming at this rate."

Hermione tried her best not to dwell too much on the 'we' part, and gave her best poker face yet. After all, this was the very same reason why she had been avoiding Draco like a plague for the past few days. All of this talk about 'we', and 'us' was already as terrifying as it can get, and hearing it coming from a Malfoy? Well, let's just say it's even much worse than her reoccurring nightmares.

"Oh, shut your trap, Malfoy." She swatted his hand away, and made extra sure to make a proper turn this time around before she stalked off briskly in the opposite direction. Draco followed suit, but not without a look of pure amusement sketched across his sharp features.

"Just remember, Granger." He called from behind, and had Hermione turned to look at him at the time, she would've witness how his eyes gleamed mischievously. "Everything comes with a price so you owe me one for this, woman."

"Don't know what you're talking about, Malfoy." Hermione snapped without looking, determined on getting to her class before it's too late because that would obviously be a huge no-no for the Brightest Witch of Her Age. Draco instantly rolled his eyes in response when the witch also didn't forget to remind him to get his arse moving so he won't be late to class well. He didn't argue though because as much as he hated to admit it, he cared about his grades as much as Hermione did so being late to class was obviously never an option for him either. ("Really? Are we the only one seeing the painfully obvious pattern here? Come on, folks!" yelled the Weasley twins in the background.) Besides, Professor McGonagall scared him out of his wits, but don't tell anyone I told that to you.

Professor McGonagall acknowledged them with a curt nod when they entered the class, and quickly ushered them to their respective seats. Draco, who spotted a gloomy Theo seated way at the back, immediately made his way there while Hermione settled next to Harry.

"Alright, listen up, class." Professor McGonagall's loud voice resounded throughout the whole room. "Before we begin our lesson shortly, I wish to speak to all of you about your upcoming Family Dynamics class. As you may have already noticed, the teachers change weekly due to our conflicting schedules, and next week just so happened to be my turn. So, I've decided to give you an assignment in advance."

"But, the class is not for another week!" protested a weedy-looking Ravenclaw boy from the right side of the room. There was a quiet murmur of agreement afterwards, heavily hinting at the students' apparent reluctance.

"Besides, it's not even a part of the school's curriculum in the first place so it's not like we need to do anything to be on top of _that_ particular class." chimed another student at the back. He received a few approving glances from the older students around the room, especially the Weasley twins who raised their thumbs up at him. In all honesty, the students were generally just against anything that might further jeopardize their leisure time during the upcoming weekend.

"I insist." There was an air of finality in Professor McGonagall's tone. "And please, do not take this lightly, Mister Miller. The same goes to the rest of you here. The teachers agreed to this class because we thought it might help you to cope with the Marriage Law. I do understand it is quite hard to.. swallow considering the situation, but we're trying our best to make it as less stressful as possible for all of you, so I really do not wish to see our efforts going down the drain." That shut them up real quick. Plus, her tone obviously left no room to argue.

"What's with the advance part then?" grumbled a pale Slytherin boy. "You could've just given us the task next week during the _actual_ class."

For once, there was a hint of a smug grin on Professor McGonagall's face. "Well, I wager my next turn won't be for at least another month so unless you would like to spend 3 hours minimum per day with your respective partner for the whole month.." She trailed off knowingly, already fully expecting the little outburst that erupted no seconds later.

A dark-haired girl wearing the emerald-silver tie of the Slytherin house shot up first, staring incredulously at the Head of Gryffindor. "Oh, bloody hell! You lot are going to kill me!" She promptly shot a dirty look at the far left of the room, where an equally dark-haired male was seated while gaping like a fish out of water.

"On second thought, I'll be sure to pick up some flowers for Professor McGonagall on our next Hogsmeade trip." muttered the previous weedy-looking Ravenclaw boy to his friends.

"Get some flowers for your woman as well while you're at it, Wellins." George, who was sitting right behind them, interrupted after overhearing the Ravenclaw's words.

"Some chocolates too." Fred joined, tsking at the latter. ".. maybe some of those Love Potions and Firewhiskey as well." added Fred as he looked at the Ravenclaw up and down, obviously judging hard before commenting under his breath. "She'll definitely have to be spiked hard with Love Potion and absolutely drunk to actually be able to make babies with you."

George turned to look at his twin by instinct, and instantly burst into a raucous laughter. They gave a quick high-five towards each other just right before Professor McGonagall directed a reproving look in their direction. Meanwhile, a Slytherin at the back was absolutely stunned with this weird ass expression on his face.

" _That_.. is the assignment?" Theo choked out when he finally found his voice back.

Draco didn't answer as he rested his head on top of his propped elbow, staring ahead at nothing in particular.

"Seriously, I need to start finding which restaurants all of this people had been frequenting lately. There's just got to be something in their food for them to come up with all sort of this rubbish ideas." Theo almost flailed there as his voice just got higher and higher. "This is going to be so - bloody - awkward. Merlin, just how exactly am I supposed to survive this incoming week? Mate, are you even listening?"

"No." said Draco flatly.

Theo threw his hands in the air. "Why did I even bother really?" He gave a sideway glance towards the other, and rolled his eyes. "Right. I forgot that you and Blaise are equally smitten by those Gryffindor witches now. I bet this won't even bother you in the slightest."

"Shut your trap, Theo."

Theo made a face. "By the way, is your mother going to be home this weekend?"

"No, she's still out visiting her cousin in France." Draco jerked back slightly, and raised a questioning brow. "Why? Are you coming over again to see my father?"

Theo shrugged. "Probably. I haven't decide yet."

"You're spending more time with my father more than I ever will." said Draco, sounding rather more amused than annoyed by the fact. Apparently, this wasn't the first time they had this kind of conversation, and if he was to be truly honest with himself, he was actually rather glad that his father had found a much more willing victim to trust with his high expectations. Once, he used to live for those moments of earning his father's approval for every single step in his life, but eventually, it got pretty burdensome after a while especially when you've been doing that since the day you first learned how to speak. Needless to say, things had definitely changed a lot in the Malfoy household ever since the end of the Second Wizarding War, and he never exactly saw his father the same way he used to back then.

"He's cool." said Theo while shrugging. "Better than my father anyway."

"You're just bitter because your father repeatedly deny your request to quit school in favor of exploring Egypt."

"That too."

Draco sniggered. "Typical Nott."

"Shut it, Malfoy."

Draco suddenly snapped his fingers. "Right, I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time. Have you ever, perhaps allowed by my father to see or even enter that one hidden room in his study? Like I said, you guys seem real close, and you're always meeting him there so I wonder if he'd ever told you about it. He'd been pretty persistent about keeping it as a secret from me until I accidentally discovered it, but he still won't allow me in even once up to this day."

Theo notably became silence for a couple of moments. His face was unreadable, and it was hard to tell what was going on in his mind as he fixed his gaze on anything, but his best mate.

"No, I don't think he ever did." Theo finally said before laughing awkwardly. "I meant logically speaking, if he never even told _you_ , his own flesh and blood, why would he even told me, right? No matter how close I am to him, I'm still a nobody. You know that."

Draco was not stupid. In fact, he caught on right away, but instantly decided that there's no use pressing the latter about it when he was obviously being just as persistent as his father had been when he brought up the same matter. He rolled his eyes, and mentally noted to himself to perfect his ability in Legilimency. Surely, that would come in handy in times like this.

"Mister Malfoy." Draco's head snapped up in surprise. Thankfully, he was able to stop himself from jumping out of his seat, and falling flat on his ass. That would be embarassing, and a sure way of causing him to be the laughing stock of the class for weeks or even months.

"Yes?" He didn't meant to squeak out loud in reply, but that was just what exactly he just did. Way to go to _not_ be the laughing stock of the class. To his relief, not much of the students were paying attention as they appeared to be more interested in stuffing their things into their bags. Draco realised with a start that the class had just ended.

"I would like to see you and Miss Granger after this if you please." Then, Professor McGonagall returned her attention back to the rest of the class. "I want a three-foot-long composition of the Conjuring Spell by next week, and don't forget to take your enchanted diary before you leave. Your assignment starts today, and you're required to write whatever that you do with your respective partner for the day in the diary. Do not lie or cheat because I'll know. Whoever does not complete this task by next week will face a severe punishment that I see fit. I do not tolerate those who does badly on the assigment either so try your best if you don't want me punishing you by locking you two up in the same room for a day or something. Or maybe, I'll ask your fellow classmates for suggestions or even leave the punishment to them entirely. You won't want that, do you? So, be diligent and it's all good. Am I clear here?"

Several of them immediately shuddered at the thought while some simply looked rather horrified. Considering the fact that the Weasley twins were among the fellow classmates mentioned though, no wonder _that_ was their first reaction. Obviously, unless you would like to end up of doing something embarassing like wearing pink, matching shirts that says "His" and "Hers" with a huge heart-shaped stitches purposely slapped on onto it, you're better off with simply getting the task over with instead.

George's hand shot up first after a considerable moment of silence. "Just to be clear, are we required to write everything in it? Like _everything_?"

"Yes, Mister Weasley."

"Are you sure about that? Like really, _really_ sure?" George raised an eyebrow while Fred had already started laughing hysterically in the background. "Like _every_ single details of our activities? How about if we just write the general ideas instead?" Then, he added lowly. "I'm sure you won't want to know every single details of my activities with Daphne."

Realisation dawned upon Professor McGonagall almost at the same time the rest of the class understood the double meaning of George's words. Some of the girls turned red in the face while the boys joined in the laughter and exchanged meaningful looks with each other.

"Very well then, that could work too as long as you do not cheat." said Professor McGonagall, shaking her head with disbelief. "It's only consider as cheating if you are making things up and writing it in the diary. Else than that, I don't see any problem with not writing the unnecessary details. Any more questions?"

Nobody said a thing so they were quickly dismissed from the class. Draco slowly walked to the front once everyone was out of the door with Hermione already ahead of him.

"Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy, I would like to discuss about the incoming engagement ball." began Professor McGonagall, stern eyes staring back at them. "Unfortunately, we would have to cancel the event."

"What?" They simultaneously said. Hermione especially, had an incredulous look on her face as if she simply can't believe what she's hearing. (Actually, that's what exactly she was feeling currently so it's not exactly just a simple as if.)

"Yes, there has been a change in the plan." Somehow, Professor McGonagall didn't looked please either.

"What kind of change?" inquired Draco, undoubtedly pretty annoyed. He did _not_ agreed to helping with the whole preparation for the engagement ball only to be told it's not happening after all. ("Bloody insolent teachers trying to play with me." thought Draco bitterly.)

"It seems that the Ministry is rather interested with the idea, thus promptly decided that _they_ will be the one holding it instead. A much more fancier, and official one according to them."

"In other words, they're blatantly stealing the idea." Draco deadpanned.

Professor McGonagall didn't respond, but she positively radiated a hint of satisfaction towards Draco's bluntness for once from the way she didn't even bother to tell him off for insulting the Ministry. She was definitely good at hiding her feeling though as she simply fixed her glasses, and regarded them with a tight smile.

"Whatever it is, what's done is done." said Professor McGonagall. "We'll have to cancel the event here since all of you will be required to attend the Ministry ball instead. It's mandatory attendance for those involved in the Marriage Law since they already decided to use the opportunity to officially introduce the new law to the wizarding world."

"Bugger, I was already planning on bailing." muttered Draco, which earned him a disapproving look from Hermione.

"I'll still need your help though."

"Alright, _definitely_ bailing."

"Hush, Malfoy." whispered Hermione harshly before turning back to Professor McGonagall. "What kind of help, Professor? We'll be happy to help."

"Speak for yourself." retorted Draco with a low voice as he leaned closer against her back to whisper in her ear. Annoyed, Hermione discreetly kicked him without looking.

" _Ow_! That hurts, woman!"

"Are you alright, Mister Malfoy?" Having entirely missed the hushed conversation between the two students, Professor McGonagall instantly became concerned when Draco suddenly stood on one foot while holding on tight onto his other one.

"I'm.. fine." Holding back a grimace, he forced out a smile in hope of dismissing the older witch's concern.

"If you say so." said Professor McGonagall though her face remained sceptical. "Anyway, I'll need both of you to head to the Ministry tomorrow."

"Say what now?"

"The Ministry, Mister Malfoy." Professor McGonagall repeated patiently. "The Ministry had requested for someone from our school to be at the Ministry by tomorrow to provide the necessary details about the students and their respective partners. I would go myself if I'm allowed to, but unexpectedly, they had specifically asked for both of you."

Hermione furrowed her brows. "Me?" She pointed at herself before exchanging a confused look with Draco.

"And _me_?" added Draco, even more surprised than Hermione did.

"Yes, both of you." stated Professor McGonagall calmly though her scrunitizing eyes proved otherwise. "Meet me tomorrow before you leave so I can give you the necessary documents to bring."

"S-Sure, Professor." Hermione's face remained confused as ever, but she nodded in acknowledgement anyway.

"Well, off you go then." Professor McGonagall concluded, already standing up to gather her belongings.

Hundreds - or even thousands - of different questions were milling around in the back of the two students' mind, but they immediately knew the conversation was over, and there was no room left for an argument. They reluctantly bid their goodbye before heading out of the door together.

"As far as I can see, this whole thing totally reeks of the whole ocean." Draco commented first, frowning.

"Huh?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Fishy, Granger. This whole thing sounds quite fishy to me, and fish obviously live in the ocean."

"That doesn't even.. make sense." Hermione pointed out.

"Oh, hush, Miss Know-It-All." mocked Draco, stressing the title on purpose. "On second thought, I don't think that name fits you since you failed to see this whole thing coming."

"That's fine by me." retorted Hermione. It's not like she was ever fond of the wretched nickname after all.

Draco snorted. "Tomorrow should be interesting."

"Indeed." Draco instantly raised a brow, surprised the other was actually in agreement with him for once. "It's finally my chance to meet Kingsley, and hex him into next week. I don't care if he's the bloody Minister for Magic now. He's got some serious explanations to do tomorrow."

"I thought it's already established that he's not the one in charge of the whole thing? I overheard Potter and your little gang while they were ganging up on Professor Dumbledore the other day. Merlin, that little redhead sure had quite a nasty temper."

Hermione shrugged. "He must had approved of it somehow though so that still count for something."

"Sweet Salazar, I swear some of you Gryffindors should have been thrown into Slytherin instead. You lot are far more cunning than half of the Slytherins itself." Draco sounded between a mix of amused and disbelief.

"As a matter of fact, Ginny was highly considered." said Hermione nonchalantly. "But, she may or may not had threatened the Sorting Hat to put her in Gryffindor instead or she'll do something along the line of setting the hat on fire. I guess the Sorting Hat prefers to avoid being roasted alive."

"I _know_ there's just something wrong with the witch." Draco shuddered.

Hermione chuckled lightly. "That's why you just don't mess with Ginevra Weasley. It's even much worse than playing with fire."

"Geez, thanks for the warning." Draco rolled his eyes. "But, I think I'm already playing with something much bigger than fire here. Marriage is a lifetime commitment after all."

"Scared, Malfoy? You can always give up your magic." Hermione offered, shooting a very Slytherin-worthy smirk.

"As if, Granger. Why don't _you_ give up your magic then?" Surprisingly, there was no hint of malice in his tone. He sounded very much like he was simply playing around instead, which puzzled Hermione to no end. Here she is, trying her best to keep her distance in order to keep the barrier between them, which is not supposed to be so easily broken in her opinion despite their mutual agreement of being civil with each other. They were not the best of friends in the past after all so it _should_ be perfectly understandable that she will need more time getting used to the whole thing, right? And yet, here he is, acting very much at ease around her without a single care in the world.

But, as they further walked next to each other while exchanging the simplest of small talk, Hermione had to admit that it was rather comfortable being around the other when she was not thinking too much of it. It was never easy for her to be around other people all of this time because they had this tendency of simply dismissing her thought when they just couldn't keep up with it, but Draco could actually match her intellectually, and challenge the way she thought effortlessly. Hermione can't help wondering if she was wrong in trying to keep the barrier between them in the first place. She sighed internally, already foreseeing the sleepless night she's probably going to face tonight from overthinking the matter. This is going to be a long day.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 : Viktor Krum, the "Star Player"**

"I hate you."

The recipient's first reaction was to blink a few times before he let loose a low rumble of his laughter. He subconsciously rubbed his forehead, torn between feeling amused or offended.

"Miss Granger, you do know you could get in trouble for insulting the Minister for Magic, right?"

"I don't care." Hermione snapped while crossing her arms. "You owe me an explanation, Kingsley."

Kingsley Shacklebolt – or widely known as the Minister for Magic nowadays – only smiled in return.

"Alright, how about we take this to my office? I'll serve you some tea because I get a feeling that you have a lot to talk about." He began directing them towards the elevator, coming into a halt right behind a Ministry worker in a bright blue robes. "Good morning, Helen."

"Good norning, sir."

The elevator arrived shortly afterwards, and they quickly crammed into the limited space. It stopped short at the first level, where the Minister for Magic's office was located. Hermione was the first one to step out of the elevator before marching right ahead without even looking back. (It doesn't matter though for she knew the place like the back of her palm already due to the countless visits she was required to fulfil over the course of last summer.)

"Please, take a seat. Make yourself at home." said Kingsley warmly as he quickly began to serve the promised tea.

"Seriously, Kingsley, is this how you repay me for saving your life back then? Because if yes, I'm demanding a refund."

Someone suddenly whistled, almost appraisingly. "Merlin's pants, this witch sure doesn't waste any time."

Hermione glared to her right, where a blond wizard was casually seated.

Kingsley laughed good-naturely. "Don't blame her, Mister Malfoy. I would put it rather simply as the aftereffect of the war."

"Did you just imply that I'm mentally unstable?"

Draco raised an amused brow. "I'm pretty sure he was referring to your rashness, but totally fine by me if that's what you thought." Then, he added in a whisper. "It's not exactly far-fetched after all."

Soon enough, you could almost hear Draco's cruciating internal groan from the way his face was twisted at such a weird angle. To many eyes, it would seems rather out of place, but if you looked more closely, you would've spotted Hermione's hand pinching his thigh. But, as it turned out, Kingsley wasn't able to see any of this due to the table in the way, thus remained remotely clueless about the matter. The tall wizard was too busy rummaging through a cabinet full of files instead before he pulled out a whole bunch of neatly stacked papers. He placed it in front of the young couple before taking a seat himself.

"Here." He gestured towards the mountain of papers, and visibly sighed. "This is some of the filed complaints we had received ever since the start of the Marriage Law."

Hermione widened her eyes as she poked around the papers. " _All of this_?"

"This is just a small portion of it." said Kingsley. "There's a whole bunch more in the Wizengamot Administration Service's office. Even up to this day, we are still receiving owls daily bringing new complaints from a large number of unhappy wizards and witches alike. We try to read it as much as possible, but it's almost impossible with all of the nasty surprises in it. Just yesterday, one of my assistants got admitted to the St. Mungo's because her face began turning purple and there's tentacles sprouting out of everywhere."

"Pray tell nobody at Hogwarts hear about this." Draco sniggered. "It'll definitely start giving them ideas."

Kingsley laughed without humor. "The Wizengamot is still persistent as ever though. They insist this step is completely necessary in order to repopulate the wizarding world. They won't budge even after I challenged them to open the mails and they almost went deaf because of an anynomous Howler. So, believe me when I say I want this to be over as much as you do, Hermione."

Hermione glanced once towards Draco. "And, here I thought you could help me getting rid of that _thing_."

"Not really." Kingsley raised his hands with defeat, but not without chuckling slightly. "My hands are tied. There's not much I can do when all members of the Wizengamot are in complete agreement with each other like that. It's the very same reason I had to approve the law in the first place."

Meanwhile, Draco looked plainly offended. "Excuse me, but did you just refer to me as a ruddy _thing_? And, what do you mean get rid? You better be talking about your cat, woman!"

Did you have already guessed what was Hermione's reaction to that by now? That's right. She straight up ignored the bloke, and focused all of her attention on Kingsley instead.

"But, you're the Minister for Magic. Surely, there's something you could do." Hermione pointed out. "I wager you _could_ at least make a few changes here and there if you want to."

Kingsley's ears positively perked up at her words. "What _kind_ of changes?"

"Oh, I don't know." Her face totally illustrated the other way around though as she smiled slyly. "But I, for one, think that it would be much better if we have a second option. A way out of this whole bloody madness if things turn for the worse."

"Keep going." encouraged Kingsley with much interest. Evidently, he edged forward in his seat while resting his chin on top of his interlaced fingers.

"Well, the Muggle world has this concept of," You could almost tell Hermione was giddy with excitement as she opened her mouth to finish her words. "— _divorce_."

"Div—what now?" interrupted Draco, genuinely curious.

"Divorce, Malfoy." Hermione raised a brow towards Kingsley. "You do know about it, don't you? I'm plenty of sure you have been undercover in the Muggle world for far too long for you not to know about it."

Kingsley shrugged non-commitedly.

"Wouldn't you agree that there won't be much of an uproar if they actually have the option to terminate the marriage after they have done their part? Think of it this way. It's a win-win situation for everyone really. The Wizengamot will still have the booming population that they are aiming for while the people will get a second chance at getting married on their own will again."

Draco nearly choked on air.

"This witch is insane." exclaimed Draco, horror plastered all over his face. Understandably, he came from a long line of pure-blooded wizarding family, and the idea of a second marriage was undoubtedly going to be such a foreign concept to him. Especially in the Malfoy household, where they believed in the partner for a lifetime principle, and always took their wedding vow very seriously.

In contrary, Kingsley had a rather thoughtful look on his face. Indeed, he had been undercover in the Muggle world for far too long for him not to know about it, and you could only imagined the great shock he received when he first found out. Ironically, he found himself weighing the option right now.

Draco stared incredulously at the Minister for Magic. "I know you lot are daft, but you can't be seriously considering this, do you?"

"Why not?" argued Hermione, challenging the other to come up with a decent argument.

"It's just not," Draco's mind was reeling to find the right word. "—right! Preposterous! Unacceptable! Unbefitting for the wizarding world!"

Hermione scoffed. "Don't be so dramatic. It'll benefit everybody in the long run. Besides, I think it will benefit the Wizengamot even more than they could ever imagine. Here's an example. The Marriage Law decreed that I'll have to marry you and produce at least one child." Hermione cringed slightly at the thought. "If I were able to divorce you, we will go on separate ways after the birth of the child and both of us will obviously remarry again sometimes later and have more children with our respective spouse. Now, imagine half, if not most of the wizards and witches doing the very same thing. I wager it'll give a real huge boost to the booming population that they are so crazy about."

The look on Draco's face was absolutely priceless, and his eyes twitched critically.

"Hermione," began Kingsley, but he was quickly interrupted by a loud knock on the door. "Enter."

A light-haired woman - which Hermione recognized as one of Kingsley's most trusted assistants - stepped in, bowing politely. "Pardon me, but she's already here, sir. Would you like to put her on hold?"

Kingsley considered her words for a split second before deliberately shaking his head.

Then, he turned to look at the young couple to address them. "Mister Malfoy, Hermione, it's time. We'll discuss this later. I need both of you to follow my assistant for now. She'll be more than happy to show you the way."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but then, decided against it just as quickly. There was just something in Kingsley's grim expression that prevented her from doing so, thus despite their confusion, Hermione and Draco reluctantly stood up, and made a move to leave.

"And, Eleanor?" called Kingsley with a rather sharp tone. "Bring one of the Aurors with you. Anyone is fine really as long as they really do have time on their hands. That should serve as an enough warning for that foul witch."

"Yes, sir."

"Good luck you both." said Kingsley. "You're going to need it."

"Thanks?" It came out more like a question than Hermione intended, but Kingsley nodded once before she was ushered out of the door by the assistant. They quietly trailed after her as she led them through the corridors towards the Auror's office.

"Wait here." She gestured towards the in front of a cubicle fully plastered with posters of missing Death Eaters before disappearing behind it.

Not knowing what to do, Hermione leaned back against the wall of the cubicle while crossing her arms. Draco had strangely fell silence ever since their little argument, but she was not going to complain about it.

"Hermy-own-ninny?"

Both Hermione and Draco looked up almost in unison. Hermione especially, gasped out loud as the realisation dawned upon her. Her eyes instantly grew in size since there was no mistaking the heavy accent. She spun around to face the source of the voice, coming face to face with a tall Bulgarian seeker with a huge smile on his face.

"Viktor!" shrieked Hermione, slapping a hand across her mouth in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Vot are _you_ doing here?" retorted the tall wizard as he began making his way in her direction instead.

"It's a long story." Hermione dismissed tiredly as she allowed Viktor to pull her into a friendly hug. "How about you? I thought you're still out practising for the upcoming match?"

Viktor only smiled in response, leaning back slightly to get a better look at Hermione, but not necessarily letting go of his hold.

"You haff gotten a whole lot skinnier than before." commented Viktor instead as he twirled her around slightly. His face morphed into a deep frown while eyeing her with great concern. "I vos vorried sick ven I heard about the vor. It's horrible, and I'm sorry that there's nothing I could do to help."

"It's alright." said Hermione reassuringly while patting his arm. "It's over, and it's all in the past now."

But, you could tell Viktor was far from being convinced from the way his thick eyebrows contracted slightly. "But, I haff also heard about the Marriage Law. Is it true your Ministry is pairing you up vith strangers?"

"Er - sort of." said Hermione uncomfortably.

"Vot about that red-headed wizard then?" questioned Krum. "The one you vere dancing vith at Fleur's vedding?"

"We.. broke up." Hermione instinctively took a quick glance towards Draco. But, she caught Draco glaring at them instead with his icy cold stare particularly fixed on Viktor's arms snugly wrapped around her. Now, she finally realised what was this cold shiver running down her spine since a while ago. "Oh, right." Flustered, Hermione immediately felt the sudden need to distance herself from the star player. "This is my fiancé now. Viktor, meet Draco Malfoy. Malfoy, I believe you already know Viktor Krum."

"Oh yes, course I do." said Draco, his tone strangely tinged with a hint of sarcasm. "Please, do carry on. I'm sure you two have _a_ _lot_ to discuss with each other after so long so don't mind me here. Don't let me bother your moving reunion, _love_."

Hermione gave a tight smile in response, obviously already sensing the double meaning of his words. Thankfully, she was saved from the tense moment when Kingsley's assistant finally returned with a tall Auror by her side.

"Good morning, Mister Krum." The assistant acknowledged Viktor before turning to the other two. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"Yes, _we_ shall." said Draco with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Let's just leave Miss Granger here so she may resume her touching moment with Viktor Krum, the International Quidditch player."

Confusion was an understatement as the assistant narrowed her eyes, unable to comprehend Draco's words. But, Hermione got his words just fine so she rolled her eyes, and waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't mind him." She said to the assistant before shifting her attention towards Viktor. "I got to go now, but it's really wonderful to see you once again. I'll write to you soon if that's fine with you?"

"Sure."

"See you again, Viktor." She smiled, and gave him one last hug before striding off to catch up with the rest. When she was close enough to Draco, her first reaction was to punch the wizard hard in the arm.

" _Ow_!"

"What's that all about?"

"Thst should be _my_ line." Draco grunted, rubbing a hand over the sore spot.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, right."

"I'm not talking to you." snapped Draco.

"Fine then!"

Both of them huffed loudly almost in unison before opting to walk at a great distance with each other. Meanwhile, Kingsley's assistant and the Auror was still leading them, unaware of the two's exchange. They were deeply engaged in a conversation instead, and Hermione found herself listening to them when she finally gave up on finding something to amuse her.

"—the Auror department is in total chaos. The recent escape certainly caught everyone by surprise. Dexter was frantic trying to defend himself. He swore that he locked them up in the most secure prison, and it was surrounded by highly-skilled Aurors."

"What about the previous case? You still haven't got a clue on that?"

The Auror shook his head. "Whoever it is, he probably has an insider feeding him informations."

"No doubt of that." Kingsley's assistant, Eleanor, added thoughtfully. "From what I've heard, the tomb is personally secured by the members of the Order of Phoenix while they were working on sealing it forever so for someone to manage the impossible of breaking in quite easily like that, they've got to have some help."

A moment of silence passed over the two as they let the information sunk in. Meanwhile, Hermione looked absolutely mortified. Without thinking, she turned to Draco, and tugged on the latter's sleeve, completely forgetting about their fight.

" _Malfoy_!" She hissed urgently as Draco blatantly ignored her. "For Merlin's sake, Draco Lucius Malfoy, hear me out!"

Draco simply leered at her. "About what, Granger? About the famous Quidditch player, Viktor Krum a.k.a that lover of yours?"

Hermione momentarily got distracted as she furrowed her brows with confusion at Draco's words. "Wait - what?"

"I can see where this is going now. No wonder you're oh-so-eagerly pushing for the divorce option." resumed Draco, his tone positively accusing now. "Were you that desperate to get rid of me, Granger? Is that it? And then, what? You're going to ride off into the sunset with that Bulgarian git? Is that what you've been aiming for all along? I think not, woman!"

"Malfoy – what are you rambling on – Merlin's beard—" Hermione resisted the urge to do a major facepalm.

"Rambling, am I now?" Draco sneered, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Look, that's not important now—"

" _Not_ _important_?" Draco's voice was threatening to raise higher as he glared daggers in Hermione's direction.

Not one to back off that easily, Hermione responded with a stern glare of her own, and grounded her teeth together with annoyance. "We'll talk about this later! Now, _listen_!" Hermione hissed rather harshly before gesturing towards the two Ministry workers walking ahead of them.

".. yeah, I met him the other day." said the Auror. "I don't know what's got into him, but I'm glad for the change."

"He was in Albania all this time, you say?"

"Yeah. Poor lad. He's probably trying to escape the public's scrunitizing eyes after Evan Rosier tainted their family's name. They used to be a well-respected family with clean records, and accumulated wealth rivaling the Malfoys after all."

Draco had enough, and shot a pointed look at Hermione. "What _exactly_ do you want me to listen to?"

Hermione sighed. "Just my luck." She blew a stray hair dangling across her forehead, mentally cursing her lack of good luck. ("How was it even possible that they had conveniently changed the topic when I finally got the git to listen, and they were even talking about his family on top of that!" thought Hermione bitterly.)

Draco arched a brow, prompting the witch.

"Nevermind." snapped Hermione.

Draco tried to come up with a response, but Eleanor indirectly prevented him from doing so. The tall woman had came into a halt in front of an oak door before opening the door, and standing aside to let them through first. When they stepped into the room though, Hermione''s first reaction was to head right back out of the door while Draco cursed under his breath, letting out a string of really, _really_ inapproriate and not-for-the-weak-hearted kind of words.

"What is _she_ doing here?" demanded Hermione as she was brought right back into the room by the Auror. There was a deep frown on her face as she stared at the said witch, evidently displeased.

"Miss Rita Skeeter here is the reporter that will be interviewing you in a moment." explained Eleanor.

"What interview?" Draco and Hermione asked simultaneously.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" cried Rita Skeeter with delight as she hurriedly fished out her infamous acid green quill and a roll of parchment from her crocodile-skin handbag. "Compatible.. notorious ex Death-Eater and the Golden Trio's heroine.. tragic love story.." mumbled the nosy witch with a deep, concentrated look.

Hermione glared at the witch. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, not again!"

"Miss Skeeter, not yet, if you please." said Eleanor uncomfortably.

Surprisingly, Rita Skeeter stopped writing at once, albeit bedgrugingly from the way she frowned unhappily. (The only explanation for that will be she was fully aware of the Auror standing quietly - almost as if he was trying to blend in with the wall - at the far corner of the room.)

"Miss Granger, aren't you aware of the reason for your presence here today?"

"No." said Hermione. " All I know is you requested for someone from Hogswart to bring the necessary details about the students involved in the Marriage Law, and that _someone_ had to be Draco and I." Sensing Rita Skeeter's keen eyes on her, Hermione was smart enough to address Draco as if they were the best of friends because she knew the witch would be all too eager to jump at the first opportunity to paint her in a bad light. Draco didn't know this though so you could probably imagine his suprise as his head snapped up in a flash.

Eleanor gave her a puzzled look. "But, Mister Shacklebolt said that—" She stopped mid-sentence when she realised the reporter's eyes had shifted, and landed on her. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. I tell you what, let's just carry on, and stick with the plan. All you have to do is give a short interview for the Daily Prophet, and then, I'll bring you to the Wizengamot Administration Service's office."

"What if I refuse?" Draco spoke for the first time since they arrived there. "You're going to curse my face off?" He raised a challenging brow at the Auror.

"I don't have to." replied the Auror calmly. "That's _Rita Skeeter_ over there. I don't think you'll ever want to insult the lady by refusing one simple interview, would you?"

"Bugger." muttered Draco under his breath. The Auror obviously had every ounce of truth in his words no matter how much he tried to deny it. Besides, his subtle warning was pretty hard to ignore. Basically, one tiny mistake from him, and he would have nothing to salvage from his already tarnished reputation so messing with Rita Skeeter was obviously one of the quickest ways to do just that. "Alright, let's get this over with. Come here, Gra— I meant Hermione, and come off it. I'm sure you have done plenty of interviews before so this should be a walk in the park for you."

Hermione glared at him, but said nothing in return. It would be unwise of her after all especially with Rita Skeeter watching them like a hungry - and greedy - predator preying on small animals for dinner time.

"Come along, dear - that's right - lovely," said Rita Skeeter as she eagerly gestured for them to join her on the couch. Since there was only two couches in the first place, and one was already fully occupied by the reporter and her loyal photographer, Hermione ultimately ended up of sitting next to Draco. Hermione cleared her throat uncomfortably when their arms brushed against each other at the slightest move due to the design of the furniture. (Who in the hell thought it was such a _good_ idea to create such a small loveseat anyway?)

"So, Miss Granger and Mister Malfoy, who would've ever thought, right?" She smiled slyly at Hermione. "What a funny situation we have here. Oh, people are raving all over the place to know about the Golden Trio since words got out about the Marriage Law. What's to become of their bright future now? Who is the lucky one to be partnered up with one of them? What are they going to wear at their weddings? When? Where? What an endless list of questions, yet very little time to address it all." She fixed her glasses as she stared at them with a funny look from behind it.

"How come you know Draco's my fiancé?" inquired Hermione suspiciously. "Not even our parents know about it yet."

"Oh, interesting." Rita Skeeter's eyes sparkled with glee as she made a move to write about the interesting new fact until she saw the look on Hermione's face, and reluctantly refrained herself. "I have my own sources, Miss Granger. Surely, you _know_ that." She shot a pointed look at Hermione.

Hermione shrugged. "Well, fire away, then. I know you're just dying to drill the infomations out of us."

Rita Skeeter clapped her hands enthusiastically, and grinned. "Very well then. How about if we start with listing out all of the other couples first? It's been quite hard on me since the public keeps on insisting for more details about the Marriage Law, and yet, the Ministry absolutely refused to confide that much in me since the law is fairly new and everything related to it is classified as highly confidential."

"There's the-Boy-Who-Lived with Astoria Greengrass." said Draco first.

"Pansy Parkinson and Ron." added Hermione.

"Loony Lovegood and Theodore Nott."

"Blaise Zabini and Ginny."

Rita Seeter's quill whizzed across the parchment at the speed of light, back and forward as though it were skating as she watched the couple closely.

"The Weasley twin and Cho Chang."

"That would be Fred." Hermione clarified. "George is with Daphne Greengrass, Astoria's sister."

"So, it seems that Harry and Mister Weasley will be in-laws, am I right?" interrupted Rita Skeeter before glancing down at her parchment. "In fact, most of you will be related by marriage. Oh, how wonderful is that. What a lovely sight to behold during Christmas dinner."

"I'm _not_ a lonely miss perfect, Rita." Hermione drawled after she caught a glimpse of the witch's writing. "And, what do you mean I'm looking at Draco with great adoration? What is this, the Victorian era?"

"Oh, don't bother with that." said Rita Skeeter, but she also hastily covered the parchment from view at the same time. "So, you were saying that your parents are yet to be aware of this union?"

"Yes." said Hermione off-handedly as her eyes were still stubbornly fixed on the parchment.

"No." said Draco, which managed to surprise both Rita Skeeter, and Hermione. The latter instinctively stopped trying to sneak a peek at Rita Skeeter's writing, and whipped her head around to gape at Draco instead. "In fact, my parents are well aware of it already if I must say it myself. You can't possibly expect to hide something this big for long when you have a father working closely with the Ministry, do you?" resumed Draco calmly.

Hermione's jaw dropped to the floor, and she instantly forgot all about Rita Skeeter's presence there. "You never told me about that!" She exclaimed with horror.

"I couldn't find the right time to tell you."

"Oh, really now, Mister Malfoy?"

"Yes, Miss Granger." retorted Draco, getting equally annoyed as well. "Maybe if you haven't been so caught up in trying to stay in contact with your Bulgarian lover, I would've find the right time to tell you."

"Do _not_ try to involve Viktor in this."

"So, you _do_ admit that's what you've been up to all of this time while you were locked up for hours in your chamber?"

"That's not the issue here!" protested Hermione, but there was a slight tinge of pink already creeping onto her cheeks.

"Aha! You are not denying it either."

"You're being ridiculous!"

" _I'm_ being ridiculous? So, does cheating on your fiancé is a perfectly reasonable behavior then?" said Draco heatedly. "Why don't you just go and marry that Bulgarian git then? You're Hermione Granger, the holy savior of the wizarding world, right? I'm sure you'll be more than able to pull a few strings to do just that."

Hermione gasped, clearly offended. She opened her mouth to argue, but Eleanor beat her to it. The Ministry worker looked frantic as she eyed Rita Skeeter's quill moving rapidly on the parchment.

"Why don't we move on to the next question, shall we?"

"Oh yes, sure." said Rita Skeeter, but it was hard to miss the hint of a smug smile tugging the corner of her lips. In that instant, Hermione just knew she was eternally doomed as she exchanged a look with Draco. When they stepped out of the Ministry later on that day, Hermione nearly bang her head to the nearest wall.

"We're doomed."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Hermione glared at Draco. "And whose fault is that? Why are you so pressed about me contacting Viktor anyway? It's not like there's anything between us."

Draco didn't reply, opting to keep his silent instead. In all honesty, he didn't have the answer either. He wasn't thinking earlier, and it just sorted of popped up from his mouth.

"Let's just get back to the school now." said Hermione with defeat.

"Actually, let's not." Draco responded. "I'm starving, and it's already way past lunch time now so it would be foolish to expect lunch is still being served back at Hogwarts."

Hermione blinked, looking like deer caught in headlights.

"I know a nice restaurant just right around the corner." said Draco while pointing at somewhere in the distance. "Come along, I know you didn't eat much this morning."

"But, we can't do that! Or more like, we _shouldn't_ do that. The main reason we're here today is to deliver the documents to the Ministry, not go on a lunch date. It will only appear as if we're trying to take advantage of the situation." protested Hermione.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I have exactly two things to say. One, have you always been this dramatic? And two, it's not a lunch date, my goody two shoes of a fiancée. I'm just merely trying to keep myself alive, and not die of starvation if you please. Oh, and which immensely bloody mental lot that told you a simple act of trying to feed yourself is considered as _taking_ _advantage_ _of_ _the_ _situation_? You need to replace that dumb oaf, woman."

"That's already three." muttered Hermione. "But still—"

"Oh, forget it." Without thinking, Draco quickly grabbed Hermione's wrist, and began dragging her in the direction that he had pointed out earlier.

"But—"

"I'll pay for everything so shut it, Granger."

That certainly left Hermione no room to argue any longer. They walked for a good five minutes before Draco pulled her into a stop in front of their destination. Much to Hermione's surprise, it's a Muggle restaurant, albeit a very fancy one.

"You're definitely just full of surprises." commented Hermione as she took in her surrounding after they were seated, and the waiter just left after taking their order. "I meant, a Muggle restaurant? Who could've ever thought!"

"They serve the best lobster." said Draco nonchalantly.

"You didn't even order any lobster just now." Hermione noted with a roll of her eyes. "By the way, do you honestly think the Ministry would be able to stop Rita Skeeter from publishing our little mishap earlier?" asked Hermione as she was instantly reminded of Eleanor assuring them that she will try her best to manage the damage control.

"Not bloody likely." Draco scoffed. "I could almost imagine tomorrow's headline already. On the brighter side, it might save that redhead friend of yours though."

Hermione arched a brow. "How so?"

"I heard that the Weasley clan haven't told their parents yet about the whole deal, and yet, we have already listed out all of the couples earlier, remember?" said Draco calmly while sipping on his wine. (It's been a long, tiring day, and wine feels like the very thing he needs right now so don't judge.)

Hermione nearly choked on air. "Merlin's beard, I totally forgot about that. Ginny will kill me!"

"Calm down, Granger. Like I said, it doesn't matter because I doubt just a short list of students being forced to marry each other is interesting enough to pass as a breaking news. If I'm guessing it right, you and I are the one who's going to be waving around on the front page of Daily Prophet tomorrow." Draco snapped his fingers. "Probably your Bulgarian lover as well while we're at it."

"He's not my lover, Malfoy."

"Oh, so it's back to Malfoy all over again now?" Draco raised a mocking brow. "From the way you've been using my first name ever so fondly earlier, I was half-expecting for you to stick with it."

"You wish."

"A man can dream." Draco jeered.

"Well, keep dreaming."

"Damn, Granger, you're almost as bad as Blaise's mom. Your sense of humor is as dry as a London newspaper."

Hermione perked up at the mention of Blaise's mother. "Have you ever met her? I meant, Blaise's mom?"

"Of course." Draco shot a suspicious look at Hermione due to her sudden interest. "...why?"

"Have you ever talked to her?"

"Yes, but _why_?" Draco pressed, growing more suspicious.

"What is she like? Is she that bad? Bad enough to the point Ginny is totally freaking out at the mere thought of meeting her?"

Draco nearly spat his drink through his nose.

"One could've mistaken you for Blaise's partner instead from the way you are so anxious for the redhead's upcoming meeting with her future mother-in-law." Draco shook his head a few times, looking plainly amused. "She'll see when the time comes for it, but I'll asure you that his mother doesn't bite."

Hermione shot an annoyed look at him, but looked rather relieved nevertheless.

"How about you?" prompted Draco out of nowhere.

"What about me?"

Draco noticeably hesitated for a split second.

"Would you be that anxious when it's your turn? I meant, one day you would have to go through the same thing too, but are you even ready to meet.. my parents?" questioned Draco in a barely audible voice as he balled his fists so tightly to the point that it nearly turned blue. It was the first time he dared to breach the subject after all, and he was anxious for the witch's answer.

There was a short pause as Hermione bit back a reply. There was no doubt that the witch was carefully weighing her options, torn between revealing the painful truth or simply avoid the question altogether. Much to her delight, the waiter arrived and saved the day. In contrary, Draco nearly considered on tripping the guy just so he had to turn all the way back into the kitchen, thus giving him more time.

"Here's your order, sir. Bon appétit!"

Unaware of Draco's murderous glare particularly fixed upon him, the waiter served their order and instantly waltzed right back into the kitchen. Hermione was already half-way through preparing herself to eat already by that time, and Draco could only looked on as the witch began to take her first bite. Oh, he was so going to hex a certain someone into next month.


End file.
